Light travels at a speed of [tex]3.0 \times 10^8 \, \text{m/s}[/tex]. If it takes light from the sun [tex]5.0 \times 10^2[/tex] seconds to reach Earth, what is the distance between Earth and the sun?
Answer (2)
You didn't tell what unit goes with the " 5 x 10² ". That would make this question impossible for somebody who doesn't already know the distance.
If it's 5 x 10² minutes , then the distance is
(3 x 10⁸ m/s) x (5 x 10² minutes) x (60 sec/min) = 9 billion kilometers .
I happen to know that's not right.
Now, let's go back and try 5 x 10² seconds .
Distance = (3 x 10⁸ m/s) x (5 x 10² sec) = 150 million km . . . 93.2 million miles.
Much better !
The distance between Earth and the Sun can be calculated using the speed of light and the time it takes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth, resulting in a distance of approximately 150 million kilometers. Using the formula Distance = Speed × Time, we find that this distance is equivalent to 1.5 × 10^{10} meters. Thus, light from the Sun takes about 500 seconds to reach Earth, covering a vast distance in space.
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