A doctor wants to determine if a new medication for cholesterol is more effective than the previous medication. The doctor informs his patients of the new medication and asks if they want to participate in a study. Patients who are currently taking medication for cholesterol are randomly selected and given the new medication. After two months, the patients’ cholesterol levels are checked.

the value of v.w= -12.

step-by-step explanation:

we are given three vector r,v and w as:

r = < 5, -5, -2> ; v = < 2, -8, -8> ; w = < -2, 6, -5>

we know that r,v and w could also be represented as:

r=5i-5j-2k

v=2i-8j-8k

and w= -2i+6j-5k

where i,j and k are the unit vectors of x,y and z-axis respectively.

also we know that it has the following property:

i.i=1 ; j.j=1; k.k=1

and i.=j.i=i.k=k.i=j.k=k.j=0

i.e. when we multiply two vectors or we find it's dot product we need to only multiply the components of x coordinates with each other; y with each other and z with each other.

hence, v.w= (2i-8j- -2i+6j-5k)

                  = 2×(-2)+(-8)×(6)+(-8)×(-5)

                  = -4-48+40

                  = -12

hence, v.w= -12

the 8 in 8,420 is in the thousands place so it's value is 8 thousand.

the 8 in 6,870 is in the hundreds place so it's value is 8 hundred.

divide 8000 by 800 to find the answer:

8000 / 800 = 10

the 8 in 8,420 is 10 times greater than the 8 in 6,870