Question

The Sun converts 6 × 1011kg of hydrogen into helium every second. Only 99.3% (= 0.993) of that goes into helium; the rest, 00.7%, goes into the energy that causes the Sun to shine. So, over the next 5 billion years (= 1.6 × 1017seconds). Calculate the amount of hydrogen that will be converted into helium.​

Answer 1

Amount of hydrogen converted into helium = (rate of conversion) x (time)

Where the rate of conversion is the amount of hydrogen converted into helium per second, and the time is the duration over which the conversion takes place.

The rate of conversion is given as 6 × 10^11 kg per second, but only 99.3% of that goes into helium. So the actual rate of conversion into helium is:

6 × 10^11 kg/s x 0.993 = 5.958 × 10^11 kg/s

Now, we can calculate the amount of hydrogen that will be converted into helium over the next 5 billion years:

Amount of hydrogen converted into helium = 5.958 × 10^11 kg/s x 1.6 × 10^17 s

Amount of hydrogen converted into helium = 9.5328 × 10^28 kg

Therefore, over the next 5 billion years, about 9.5328 × 10^28 kg of hydrogen will be converted into helium.