Astronomers measure large distances in light-years. One light-year is the distance that light can travel in one year, or approximately 5.88*10^12 miles. Suppose a star is 3.2*10^12 light-years from Earth. In scientific notation, approximately how many miles is it?
a) 1.88 * 10^12
b) 5.88 * 10^14
c) 3.2 * 10^15
d) 1.88 * 10^15
My answer is D, am I right?
im guessing its wrong because of all the dislikes?
What's the damned answer!?
To find the approximate number of miles, we need to multiply the given distance in light-years by the conversion factor of 5.88*10^12 miles per light-year.
So, 3.2*10^12 light-years * 5.88*10^12 miles/light-year = (3.2 * 5.88) * 10^12 * 10^12 = 18.816 * 10^24.
Now, to express this result in scientific notation, we can rewrite it as 1.8816 * 10^1 * 10^24 = 1.8816 * 10^25.
Therefore, the star is approximately 1.8816 * 10^25 miles away from Earth. None of the provided answer choices match this result, so the correct answer is not listed.