Question

(a) Calculate the number of cells in a hummingbird assuming the mass of an average cell is ten times the mass of a bacterium. (b) Making the same assumption, how many cells are there in a human?

Short answer

1. The number of cells in humming bird is 10¹² cells
2. A number of cells in human is 10¹⁶cells

Step-by-step solution

Defining concept of cells

Humans are complex organisms made up of trillions of cells, each with its own structure and function. Scientists have come a long way in estimating the number of cells in a normal human body. Recent estimates put the number of cells at about30 trillion

Cells in hummingbird

The mass of hummingbird is 10^-2 kg. While the mass of cell is 10^-15kg.

The number of cells in hummingbird is

\[\begin{array}{c}N = \frac{{{{10}^{ - 2}}{\rm{ }}kg}}{{10 \times {{10}^{ - 15}}{\rm{ }}kg}}\\ = {10^{12}}{\rm{ }}cells\end{array}\]

Cells in the humans

The mass of a person is 10²kg

\[\begin{array}{c}N = \frac{{{{10}^2}{\rm{ }}kg}}{{10 \times {{10}^{ - 15}}{\rm{ }}kg}}\\ = {10^{16}}{\rm{ }}cells\end{array}\]

Deriving conclusions

The number of cell in humming bird is 10¹² cells

Number of cells in human is 10¹⁶cells