The diameter of Mercury is approximately 4.9×103

kilometers.

The diameter of Jupiter is approximately 1.4×105
kilometers.

About how many times greater is the diameter of Jupiter than the diameter of Mercury?

Responses

2.9
2.9

29
29

290
290

2900

1 answer

To find how many times greater the diameter of Jupiter is compared to Mercury, you can divide the diameter of Jupiter by the diameter of Mercury.

The diameter of Mercury is approximately \( 4.9 \times 10^3 \) kilometers, and the diameter of Jupiter is approximately \( 1.4 \times 10^5 \) kilometers.

Now, perform the division:

\[ \text{Ratio} = \frac{\text{Diameter of Jupiter}}{\text{Diameter of Mercury}} = \frac{1.4 \times 10^5}{4.9 \times 10^3} \]

First, divide the coefficients (1.4 and 4.9):

\[ \frac{1.4}{4.9} \approx 0.2857 \]

Next, divide the powers of ten:

\[ \frac{10^5}{10^3} = 10^{5-3} = 10^2 \]

Now, combine the two results:

\[ 0.2857 \times 10^2 = 28.57 \]

This means that the diameter of Jupiter is approximately 28.57 times greater than that of Mercury.

Looking at the options provided, the closest whole number is 29. Therefore, the diameter of Jupiter is about 29 times greater than the diameter of Mercury.