Question 1.26 - Chemistry: Molecular Nature Of Matter And Change

Question

The average radius of a molecule of lysozyme, an enzyme in tears, is 1430 pm. What is its radius in nanometres (nm)?

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

Answer

The radius of the molecule is $1430\times {10}^{-3}$nm .

Conversion from pm to nm

Using the following equalities, convert the radius from Pico meters to Nanometres.

$$\begin{gathered} 1 pm=1\times {10}^{-12}m \\ 1 nm=1\times {10}^{-9}m \end{gathered}$$

As a result, the conversion factors are as follows:

$\frac{1\times {10}^{-12}m}{1pm} and \frac{1nm}{1\times {10}^{-9}m}$

Calculation

$$\begin{gathered} Radius = Radius in pm \times Concersion factor \\ =1430 pm \times \left[\frac{1\times {10}^{-12}m}{1pm}\right]\times \left[\frac{1nm}{1\times {10}^{-9}m}\right] \\ =1430pm \times {10}^{-3} nm \\ Hence, the radius of the molecule is 1430pm \times {10}^{-3} nm. \end{gathered}$$