a) The answer is 9.3 * 10⁷ mi
First, represent the number as the product of a number in the range 1 up to 10 and a number divisible by 10:
93,000,000 mi = 9.3 * 10,000,000 mi
10,000,000 = 10 * 10 * 10 * 10 * 10 * 10 * 10 = 10⁷
93,000,000 mi = 9.3 * 10,000,000 mi = 9.3 * 10⁷ mi
b) The answer is 4 * 10⁻² in
Represent the number as the product of a number in the range 1 up to 10 and a number divisible by 10.
0.04 in = 4 * 0.01 in
0.01 = 10⁻²
0.04 in = 4 * 0.01 in = 4 * 10⁻² in
c) The distance to the sun in inches is 5,892,480,000,000 in
1 mi = 63,360 in
93,000,000 mi = 93,000,000 * 63,360 in = 5,892,480,000,000 in
How many fireflies would it take to reach the sun if they were put end to end:
147,312,000,000,000
x - number of fireflies
x * 0.04 in = 5,892,480,000,000 in
x = 5,892,480,000,000 in / 0.04 in
x = 147,312,000,000,000