There are 365.25 days in a year, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute. Convert years into seconds. Show your work and keep 5 significant figures.
Ok, so finding it is easy (multiply 24, 60, 60 and 365.25) but how does the significant figures part play in to the problem? Maybe I'm just not understanding what it is asking of me. Help! Thank you!
To convert years into seconds, you need to use the conversion factors of 365.25 days per year, 24 hours per day, 60 minutes per hour, and 60 seconds per minute.
To account for significant figures, you need to determine the number of significant figures in the given value (years) and apply that to the final answer. Since the given value "years" does not specify a number of significant figures, we can assume it has an infinite number of significant figures. Therefore, we can limit the answer to the number of significant figures in the conversion factors used.
Here's the step-by-step process:
1. Start with the given value: years (assumed infinite significant figures).
2. Multiply by the conversion factor for days per year:
years * (365.25 days / 1 year) = number of days
3. Multiply by the conversion factor for hours per day:
number of days * (24 hours / 1 day) = number of hours
4. Multiply by the conversion factor for minutes per hour:
number of hours * (60 minutes / 1 hour) = number of minutes
5. Multiply by the conversion factor for seconds per minute:
number of minutes * (60 seconds / 1 minute) = number of seconds
Finally, round the answer to 5 significant figures and express it in scientific notation if necessary.
However, since the given value "years" in this problem does not have a specified number of significant figures, it is unclear to what extent the final answer should be rounded. Therefore, it is best to provide the final answer without rounding, respecting the infinite significant figures assumed in the given value.