Question
The table above shows the distances to some of the nearest stars to our solar system. Which of the following is true?
I. Light from all three stars reaches Earth in equal time.
II. Light from all three stars travels at the same speed.
III. Of the three stars, Sirius is the farthest from Earth.
IV. Barnard's Star is closer to Earth than Sirius is.
A.
I and II only
B.
I, II, III, and IV
C.
III and IV only
D.
II, III, and IV only
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
To evaluate the statements regarding the distances to the nearest stars, let's analyze each statement:
I. **Light from all three stars reaches Earth in equal time.**
- This statement is **False**. The time it takes for light from a star to reach Earth is dependent on the distance of the star. If the distances are different, the times will also be different.
II. **Light from all three stars travels at the same speed.**
- This statement is **True**. The speed of light in a vacuum is constant at approximately 299,792 kilometers per second, regardless of the source or distance.
III. **Of the three stars, Sirius is the farthest from Earth.**
- This statement is **False** unless explicitly stated otherwise in the distances provided. Generally, Sirius is one of the closer stars (second closest) to Earth compared to some others like Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star.
IV. **Barnard's Star is closer to Earth than Sirius is.**
- This statement is typically **True**. Barnard's Star is known to be closer to Earth than Sirius.
Reviewing the options:
- **A. I and II only**: Incorrect, because I is false.
- **B. I, II, III, and IV**: Incorrect, as I and III are false.
- **C. III and IV only**: Incorrect, because III is false.
- **D. II, III, and IV only**: Incorrect, because III is false.
From all these evaluations, the correct and valid statement that originates from the information is II only. However, this option is not provided. If we consider only the valid truths, the right choice would reflect just II being true, but there isn't a corresponding option available.
Thus, if forced to choose based solely on the closest match to truthfulness, the best option available is:
**D. II, III, and IV only**, but note that III is actually false. This may suggest ambiguity in the provided information regarding star distances.
I. **Light from all three stars reaches Earth in equal time.**
- This statement is **False**. The time it takes for light from a star to reach Earth is dependent on the distance of the star. If the distances are different, the times will also be different.
II. **Light from all three stars travels at the same speed.**
- This statement is **True**. The speed of light in a vacuum is constant at approximately 299,792 kilometers per second, regardless of the source or distance.
III. **Of the three stars, Sirius is the farthest from Earth.**
- This statement is **False** unless explicitly stated otherwise in the distances provided. Generally, Sirius is one of the closer stars (second closest) to Earth compared to some others like Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star.
IV. **Barnard's Star is closer to Earth than Sirius is.**
- This statement is typically **True**. Barnard's Star is known to be closer to Earth than Sirius.
Reviewing the options:
- **A. I and II only**: Incorrect, because I is false.
- **B. I, II, III, and IV**: Incorrect, as I and III are false.
- **C. III and IV only**: Incorrect, because III is false.
- **D. II, III, and IV only**: Incorrect, because III is false.
From all these evaluations, the correct and valid statement that originates from the information is II only. However, this option is not provided. If we consider only the valid truths, the right choice would reflect just II being true, but there isn't a corresponding option available.
Thus, if forced to choose based solely on the closest match to truthfulness, the best option available is:
**D. II, III, and IV only**, but note that III is actually false. This may suggest ambiguity in the provided information regarding star distances.