Light travels at an approximate rate of 1.9×105 mi./sec. There are about 3.2×107 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 out how many miles light travels in a year, we can multiply the speed of light (1.9×105 mi./sec) by the number of seconds in a year (3.2×107 seconds).
1.9×105 mi./sec × 3.2×107 seconds
Multiplying these two numbers together gives us the distance in miles that light travels in a year:
6.08×1012 miles
Therefore, light travels approximately 6.08×1012 miles in a year.
To calculate how many miles light travels in a year, we need to multiply the speed of light by the number of seconds in a year.
Given:
Speed of light = 1.9×10^5 mi./sec
Number of seconds in a year = 3.2×10^7 sec
To find the distance traveled by light in a year, we multiply these two values together:
1.9×10^5 mi./sec * 3.2×10^7 sec
To multiply numbers in scientific notation, we multiply the coefficients and add the exponents:
(1.9 * 3.2) × (10^5 * 10^7) mi.
Multiplying the coefficients gives us:
6.08 × 10^12
Multiplying the exponents gives us:
10^(5+7) = 10^12
Therefore, light travels approximately 6.08 × 10^12 miles in a year.
To find the number of miles light travels in a year, we need to 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.
Multiplying these two quantities gives:
1.9×10^5 mi./sec. * 3.2×10^7 sec.
To multiply numbers written in scientific notation, we multiply the coefficients and add the exponents:
1.9 * 3.2 = 6.08
10^5 * 10^7 = 10^(5+7) = 10^12
So, the result is:
6.08 * 10^12 mi.
Hence, light travels approximately 6.08×10^12 miles in a year.