Question

Light travels 1.9 times 10^5 there are about 3.2 times 10^7 seconds in a year about how many miles does light travel in a year. Write in scientific notation to the exact decimal place

Answer 1

To calculate how far light travels in a year, we start with the speed of light, which is approximately \( 1.9 \times 10^5 \) miles per second. We also know that there are about \( 3.2 \times 10^7 \) seconds in a year.

To find the distance light travels in one year, we multiply the speed of light by the number of seconds in a year:

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

Substituting in the values:

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

Now we can multiply the coefficients (1.9 and 3.2) and add the exponents (5 and 7):

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

Calculating the coefficients:

\[
1.9 \times 3.2 = 6.08
\]

And adding the exponents:

\[
5 + 7 = 12
\]

So the distance light travels in one year is:

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

Thus, light travels approximately \( 6.08 \times 10^{12} \) miles in a year.