Question

The average distance from Earth to the Sun is 150 megameters. What is that distance in meters?

1) 1.5 × 10⁸ m
2) 1.5 × 10⁶ m
3) 1.5 × 10⁵ m
4) 1.5 × 10³ m
5) 1.5 × 10⁻⁶ m

Answer 1

The average distance from Earth to the Sun is 150 megameters, which converts to 1.5 × 10⁸ meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

The average distance from Earth to the Sun is 150 megameters. The term 'mega' in megameters refers to a million, which in scientific notation is shown as 106. Therefore, to convert megameters to meters, you multiply the number of megameters by one million. In this case, the average distance of 150 megameters is equal to 150 × 106 meters. Converting this to standard scientific notation gives us 1.5 × 108 meters (since 150 can be written as 1.5 × 100 and 100 is 102, which when multiplied by 106 gives 108).