Question

If the moon is 384,400 km away, how many meters is it away from Earth? Write your answer to3 significant figures and in scientific notation

A) 3.84 x 10m
B) 3.844 x 10 m
C) 384 x 10m
D) 3.8 x 10m
E) 3.84400 x 10m

Answer 1

The moon is 384,400 km away from Earth. Converted into meters and rounded to three significant figures in scientific notation, the distance is 3.84 × 108 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

If the moon is 384,400 km away, to express that distance in meters, we multiply by 1,000 (since there are 1,000 meters in a kilometer). Therefore, the distance becomes 384,400 km × 1,000 = 384,400,000 m.

However, the question asks for the answer to three significant figures and in scientific notation. So, we need to round 384,400,000 m to three significant figures, giving us 3.84 × 108 m. Thus, the correct answer in the available options would be:

• B) 3.844 × 108 m

Note that the options provided may contain a typo and the correct scientific notation should have the power of 10 expressed.