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Correct Answer: hexidecimal
the question asks to identify the word that is spelled incorrectly from a list. among the words presented – "heulandite," "hexidecimal," "hetaera," and "heterocyst" – the word spelled incorrectly is "hexidecimal."
the correct spelling of the word is "hexadecimal." in the term "hexadecimal," the segment "hexa-" derives from the greek word for six, and "-decimal" comes from the latin word for ten. thus, "hexadecimal" refers to a base-16 numeral system, which is widely used in computing and digital systems to simplify the representation of binary numbers.
in a hexadecimal system, each digit can represent sixteen different values (0-15), using the symbols 0-9 to represent values zero to nine, and the letters a-f to represent values ten to fifteen. this allows hexadecimal numbers to concisely represent large binary values, which is especially useful in computer programming and engineering to reduce complexity when dealing with long binary sequences.
the other words in the list are correctly spelled:
- "heulandite" refers to a group of minerals belonging to the zeolite family, commonly found in volcanic rocks.
- "hetaera" is an ancient greek term for a courtesan or companion who was often educated and played a role in social and cultural life.
- "heterocyst" refers to a specialized cell found in some filamentous cyanobacteria, important for nitrogen fixation.
therefore, the misspelled word in the list is "hexidecimal," which should be corrected to "hexadecimal."
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