An asteroid is heading toward Mars at the rate of 7.7 x 10^4 mi./he is the asteroid is 3.311×10^8 miles away from Mars. How many hours will it be before it hits Mars? Write the answer in scientific notation expressed to the exact decimal place.

Answer 1

To calculate the time it will take for the asteroid to hit Mars, we need to divide the distance between the asteroid and Mars by the rate at which the asteroid is approaching.

Let's represent the distance between the asteroid and Mars in scientific notation: 3.311×10^8 miles.
And the rate at which the asteroid is approaching Mars: 7.7 x 10^4 mi./h.

Dividing the distance by the rate gives us:

(3.311×10^8 miles) / (7.7 x 10^4 mi./h) = (3.311/7.7) × (10^8/10^4) = 0.4296 x 10^4.

Now we convert 0.4296 to scientific notation:
0.4296 = 4.296 x 10^(-1).

The final answer is: 4.296 x 10^(-1) * 10^4 = 4.296 x 10^3 hours.