Light travels at a constant speed of 3.0 x 105km/s. The distance between the Sun and the Earth is about 1.5 x 108km. Use the distance = speed x time formula (d = v t) to calculate the time it takes light to travel from the Sun to the Earth. Show your work. Express your result in the appropriate number of significant figures
To calculate the time it takes light to travel from the Sun to the Earth, we can use the formula distance (d) = speed (v) x time (t).
Given:
Speed of light (v) = 3.0 x 10^5 km/s
Distance between Sun and Earth (d) = 1.5 x 10^8 km
Rearranging the formula, we can solve for time (t):
t = d / v
Now, let's substitute the given values into the equation:
t = (1.5 x 10^8 km) / (3.0 x 10^5 km/s)
To divide these numbers in scientific notation, we need to perform the division of the coefficients and subtract the exponents:
t = 5 x 10^2 s
Therefore, it takes light approximately 500 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth.
To calculate the time it takes for light to travel from the Sun to the Earth using the distance = speed x time formula (d = v t), we can rearrange the formula to solve for time:
t = d / v
Given:
Speed of light (v) = 3.0 x 10^5 km/s
Distance between the Sun and the Earth (d) = 1.5 x 10^8 km
Plugging in the values:
t = (1.5 x 10^8 km) / (3.0 x 10^5 km/s)
Now, we can simplify the equation:
t = (1.5 / 3.0) x (10^8 / 10^5) s
Simplifying further:
t = 0.5 x 10^3 s
Finally, we can express the result in the appropriate number of significant figures. Since the given distance has 2 significant figures, the final answer should also have 2 significant figures.
Therefore, the time it takes light to travel from the Sun to the Earth is approximately 5.0 x 10^2 seconds (or 500 seconds)