Final answer:
The speed of light, 3.00×108 m/s, is approximately 670,616,629 miles per hour when converted using the appropriate conversion factors. This conversion requires multiplication by the factors converting meters to miles and seconds to hours.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question involves converting the speed of light from meters per second to miles per hour. The speed of light is universally recognized as 3.00×108 m/s. To convert this to miles per hour, we will use the conversion factors of 1 meter = 0.000621371 miles and 1 hour = 3600 seconds.
To find the speed of light in miles per hour, we perform the following calculation:
(3.00×108 m/s) × (0.000621371 miles/1 m) × (3600 s/1 hour)
The meters unit will cancel out, leaving us with miles per second, and after we multiply by 3600 (the number of seconds in an hour), we'll have the speed in miles per hour.
After carrying out the calculation, the speed of light is approximately 670,616,629 miles per hour. It's important to note that the speed of light is a fundamental constant in physics, and it is the speed at which all electromagnetic waves propagate in a vacuum.