If the nucleus of an atom had a diameter of 6 cm, what would the diameter of the atom be?

Question

Full Question:

If the nucleus of an atom were the size of a medium-sized orange (say, with a diameter of about 6 cm), what would be the diameter of the atom?

So, I really just don't know the ratio of size between the two.

Thanks!!! I really appreciate it!

Answer 1

Diameter of a nucleus is around 10^-12 cm.

Diameter of an atom is on the order of 10^-8 cm (up to 5*10^-8).

Taking the smaller range of the atom, the ratio is:

atom/nucleus = 10^-8/10^-12 = 10^4

Thus, if the nucleus was actually 6cm, the atom would be:

6cm * 10^4 = 60000cm = 600 meters in diameter