1. **State the problem:** We need to find how many times wider a human hair is compared to a bacterium. 2. **Given data:** - Diameter of bacteria: $1.4 \times 10^{-6}$ m - Diameter of human hair: $7.2 \times 10^{-5}$ m 3. **Formula:** To find how many times wider the hair is, divide the diameter of the hair by the diameter of the bacteria: $$\text{Times wider} = \frac{\text{Diameter of hair}}{\text{Diameter of bacteria}}$$ 4. **Calculation:** $$\frac{7.2 \times 10^{-5}}{1.4 \times 10^{-6}} = \frac{7.2}{1.4} \times \frac{10^{-5}}{10^{-6}} = 5.142857... \times 10^{1} = 51.42857...$$ 5. **Interpretation:** The human hair is approximately 51.4 times wider than the bacterium. 6. **Final answer:** $$\boxed{51.4}$$ times wider.