Question

Knowing that year = 3.1536 x 10⁷ seconds, how many years does it take for light to travel from Proxima Centauri to Earth? Write your answer in standard notation. Round your answer to two decimal places​.

a) 4.36 x 10¹ years
b) 2.35 x 10² years
c) 4.24 x 10¹ years
d) 6.78 x 10² years

Answer 1

Light takes approximately 4.24 years to travel from Proxima Centauri to Earth, given that a year is 3.1536 x 10⁷ seconds, making option c) the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

This asks how many years it takes for light to travel from Proxima Centauri to Earth, given that a year is equivalent to 3.1536 x 10⁷ seconds. To find the correct answer, we can use the distance from Proxima Centauri to Earth, which is approximately 4.24 light-years. Since one light-year is the distance light travels in one year, it takes light approximately 4.24 years to reach Earth from Proxima Centauri. So, the correct answer is c) 4.24 x 10¹ years.