Question

Astronomers measure large distances in light-years. One light-year is the distance that light can travel in one year, or approximately 5.88x10^12 miles. Suppose a star is 1.92x10^3 light-years from Earth. In Scientific notation, approximately how many miles is it?

Answer 1

1 Light Year = $5.88*10^{12}$ miles

The distance of star from the Earth in Light Years = $1.92*10^{3}$ Light Years.

The distance of star from the Earth in miles will be:

$(1.92*10^{3})*(5.88*10^{12}) \\ \\ =1.92*5.88*10^{3+12} \\ \\ =1.92*5.88*10^{15} \\ \\ =11.2896*10^{15} \\ \\ =1.12896*10*10^{15} \\ \\ =1.13*10^{16}$

Thus, the star is approximately $1.13*10^{16}$ miles from the Earth.