Astronomers measure large distances in light-years. One light-year is the distance that light can travel in one year, or approximately 5.88 × 1012 miles. Suppose a star is 9.8 × 101 light-years from Earth. In scientific notation, approximately how many miles is it?

Question

(1 point)
Responses

5.88 × 1013 miles
5.88 × 10 13 miles

5.76 × 1014 miles
5.76 × 10 14 miles

5.88 × 1012 miles
5.88 × 10 12 miles

9.8 × 1012 miles

Answer 1

To calculate the number of miles in 9.8 × 10¹ light-years, we multiply the distance of one light-year (approximately 5.88 × 10¹² miles) by 9.8 × 10¹:

(5.88 × 10¹² miles) * (9.8 × 10¹) = 5.88 × 10¹² * 9.8 × 10¹ = 5.88 × 9.8 × 10¹² × 10¹ = 57.504 × 10²¹ miles

In scientific notation, this can be expressed as approximately 5.7504 × 10²² miles.