Light travels at an approximate rate of 1.9×10^5 mi./sec. There are about 3.2×10^7 seconds in a year. About how many miles does light travel in a year? Write the answer in scientific notation. Express the answer to the exact decimal place.
To find how many miles light travels in a year, we can multiply the rate of light by the number of seconds in a year:
1.9×10^5 mi./sec * 3.2×10^7 sec/year
When multiplying numbers in scientific notation, we multiply the coefficients and add the exponents:
(1.9 * 3.2) × (10^5 * 10^7) mi.
= 6.08 × 10^(5+7) mi.
= 6.08 × 10^12 mi.
Therefore, light travels approximately 6.08 × 10^12 miles in a year.
To find out how many miles light travels in a year, we need to multiply the speed of light (1.9×10^5 mi./sec) by the number of seconds in a year (3.2×10^7 seconds).
Let's perform the calculation step by step using scientific notation:
1. Multiply the two numbers:
(1.9×10^5 mi./sec) × (3.2×10^7 seconds)
2. Multiply the coefficients:
1.9 × 3.2 = 6.08
3. Add the exponents:
10^5 × 10^7 = 10^(5+7) = 10^12
4. Combine the coefficient and the exponent:
The final result is 6.08 × 10^12 mi.
So, light travels approximately 6.08 × 10^12 miles in a year.
To find out how many miles light travels in a year, we can multiply the speed of light by the number of seconds in a year.
Speed of light = 1.9×10^5 mi./sec
Number of seconds in a year = 3.2×10^7 sec
To multiply these two values, we can multiply the numbers and add the exponents:
(1.9 × 3.2) × (10^5 × 10^7) = 6.08 × 10^12
Therefore, light travels approximately 6.08 × 10^12 miles in a year.