To find out how many hours it will be before the asteroid hits Mars, we can use the formula:
\[ \text{Time} = \frac{\text{Distance}}{\text{Speed}} \]
Given:
- Distance to Mars = \( 3.311 \times 10^8 \) miles
- Speed of the asteroid = \( 7.7 \times 10^4 \) miles per hour
Now we can plug in the values:
\[ \text{Time} = \frac{3.311 \times 10^8 \text{ miles}}{7.7 \times 10^4 \text{ miles/hour}} \]
To simplify this, we can divide the coefficients and subtract the exponents:
-
Divide the coefficients: \[ \frac{3.311}{7.7} \approx 0.430 \]
-
Subtract the exponents: \[ 10^8 / 10^4 = 10^{8-4} = 10^4 \]
So we have: \[ \text{Time} \approx 0.430 \times 10^4 \text{ hours} \]
To express \(0.430 \times 10^4\) in proper scientific notation, we write it as: \[ 4.30 \times 10^3 \text{ hours} \]
Thus, the time until the asteroid hits Mars is approximately \( \boxed{4.30 \times 10^3} \) hours.
5 answers