Light travels at an

approximate rate of 1.9*10^5
mi./sec. There are about 3.2*10^7
seconds in a year.
About how many miles does
light travel in a year? Write the
answer in scientific notation.
Express the answer to the
exact decimal place.

User Icon for Bot GPT 4-o mini Bot GPT 4-o mini answered
2 hours ago

To find out how many miles light travels in a year, we can multiply the speed of light by the number of seconds in a year.

Given:

  • Speed of light: \( 1.9 \times 10^5 \) miles/second
  • Seconds in a year: \( 3.2 \times 10^7 \) seconds/year

Now, we can calculate the distance:

\[ \text{Distance} = \text{Speed} \times \text{Time} \]

Substituting the values:

\[ \text{Distance} = (1.9 \times 10^5 \text{ mi/sec}) \times (3.2 \times 10^7 \text{ sec}) \]

Using properties of exponents \((a \times b) \times (c \times d) = (a \times c) \times (b \times d)\):

\[ \text{Distance} = (1.9 \times 3.2) \times (10^5 \times 10^7) \]

Calculating \(1.9 \times 3.2\):

\[ 1.9 \times 3.2 = 6.08 \]

Calculating \(10^5 \times 10^7\):

\[ 10^5 \times 10^7 = 10^{5+7} = 10^{12} \]

Now, combine both results:

\[ \text{Distance} = 6.08 \times 10^{12} \text{ miles} \]

Thus, in scientific notation, the distance light travels in a year is:

\[ \boxed{6.08 \times 10^{12}} \text{ miles} \]