Question

The diameter of the Sun is about 1.4 x 10 to the 6th power km. The diameter of Earth is about 13,000 km.

What is the approximate ratio of the diameter of the Sun to the diameter of the Earth?

A. 1.08 x 10 to the 2nd power
B. 9.2 x 10 to the power of -3
C. 1.08 x 10 to the 3rd power
D. 9.2 x 10 to the 2nd power

Answer 1

The ratio between them is approximately
`1.08*10^2`, therefore the correct answer is A.

Explanation:

In order to calculate the ratio of the diameter of the Sun to the diameter of the Earth we will first represent the Earth's diameter as a scientific notation, to do this we will add one to the power of ten for every time the comma walks to the left until there's only one number to the left. This is done to make the division easier,

`d_(earth) = 1.3*10^4\text{ km}`

The ratio is given by the Sun's diameter divided by the Earth's, as shown below:

`\text{ratio} = (d_(sun))/(d_(earth))\\\\\text{ratio}= (1.4*10^6)/(1.3*10^4) = 1.08*10^2`

The ratio between them is approximately
`1.08*10^2`, therefore the correct answer is A.