Answer :
Final answer:
The stated mass of an average grain of table salt (3⋅ 104 grams) is incorrect due to a typo. A grain of table salt should be about 3 × 10-4 grams in scientific notation, rather than any of the values provided in the options.
Explanation:
The mass of an average grain of table salt in a sample is 3⋅ 104 grams.
However, this is an error, because this would mean each grain of salt weighs 30,000 grams, which is not possible. The actual mass should be much smaller, and if we consider common knowledge, a grain of table salt would likely weigh much less, around 0.0003 grams or 3 × 10-4 grams in scientific notation.
Therefore, the correct representation in scientific notation would indeed be option 2: 3 × 10-4 grams.
