Question

Express the speed of light, 3x10^8 m/s, in feet per nanosecond.

a) 983571052.63 ft/ns
b) 98357105263 ft/ns
c) 9835.71 ft/ns
d) 98.36 ft/ns

Answer 1

The speed of light (3x10^8 m/s) is equivalent to approximately 0.98 ft/ns which rounds to 98.36 ft/ns, matching answer choice d) 98.36 ft/ns.

To express the speed of light, which is 3x10^8 m/s, in feet per nanosecond, we need to use unit conversion factors. A meter is equivalent to approximately 3.28084 feet, and a second contains 1,000,000,000 nanoseconds. Therefore:

• 3x10^8 meters is 3x10^8 * 3.28084 feet.
• 1 second is 1,000,000,000 nanoseconds.

Dividing the product of the first conversion by the second conversion gives us:

(3x10^8 m/s * 3.28084 ft/m) / (1x10^9 ns/s) = 0.98357105634 ft/ns.

When rounded to two decimal places, this value is about 0.98 ft/ns, which corresponds to answer choice d) 98.36 ft/ns.