The sun generates about 4×10^26 joules of energy every second. There are about 3.15×10^7 seconds in a year. About how many joules of energy does the sun generate in a year? Write the answer in scientific notation. Express the answer to the exact decimal place.

Answer 1

To find the total energy generated by the sun in a year, we multiply the energy generated per second (4×10^26 joules) by the number of seconds in a year (3.15×10^7 seconds).

(4×10^26 joules/second) × (3.15×10^7 seconds/year) = 12.6×10^33 joules/year

Since 12.6 is between 10 and 100, we can write the answer in scientific notation as:

1.26×10^34 joules/year