Final answer:
To determine how many times wider the blue star is compared to the red star, divide the diameter of the blue star (2.9 x 10^8 miles) by the diameter of the red star (8.2 x 10^5 miles), giving a result of 353.7 times wider.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how many times wider the blue star is compared to the red star, we divide the width of the blue star by the width of the red star. The red star is 8.2 x 10^5 miles wide, and the blue star is 2.9 x 10^8 miles wide.
Now, we divide the size of the blue star by the size of the red star:
(2.9 x 10^8) ÷ (8.2 x 10^5) = (2.9 ÷ 8.2) x (10^8 ÷ 10^5) = 0.3537 x 10^3
After simplifying the decimal and exponent, we get:
0.3537 x 10^3 = 3.537 x 10^2
So, the blue star is 353.7 times wider than the red star.