Question

How far can light from the sun travel in 55 minutes?

Answer 1

Given:

a.) The speed of light is 1.86 x 10^5 miles per second.

For us to be able to determine how far it travels in 55 minutes, let's first convert 55 minutes into seconds.

We get,

`\text{ 55 \lparen minutes\rparen x }\frac{60\text{ seconds}}{1\text{ \lparen minute\rparen}}\text{ = 55 x 60}`
`\text{ = 3,300 seconds}`

Let's now determine how far can light from the sun travel in 55 minutes = 3,300 seconds.

Let's disregard 10^5 first.

`\text{ 1.86 x 3,300 = 6,138 = 6.138 X 10}^3`
`\text{ 6.138 x 10}^3\text{ x 10}^5\text{ = 6.138 x 10}^{3\text{ }+\text{ 5}}`
`\text{ = 6.138 x 10}^8\text{ miles}`

Therefore, the light from the sun traveled 6.138 x 10^8 miles in 55 minutes.

The answer is 6.138 x 10^8 miles