Question

An astronomer wrote the distances from

Earth to two different stars in scientific
notation.
• Distance from Earth to star A = 4 X 1013
• Distance from Earth to star B = 8 x 1015
About how many times farther from Earth
is star B than star A?
A) 2
B) 100
C) 10
D) 200

Answer 1

Star B is 200 times farther from Earth than star A, as determined by converting their distances from scientific notation to a common exponent and then dividing.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine how many times farther from Earth star B is than star A, we need to compare the distances given in scientific notation:

• Distance from Earth to star A = 4 x 1013
• Distance from Earth to star B = 8 x 1015

Converting both to have the same exponent, we can express the distance to star A as:

4 x 1013 = 0.04 x 1015

Now, dividing the distance to star B by the converted distance to star A gives:

8 x 1015 / 0.04 x 1015 = 200

Therefore, star B is 200 times farther from Earth than star A.