Question

The average distance from Pluto to the sun is about 6 x 10^9 kilometers. The average distance from mars to the sun is 2 x 10^8 kilometers. The average distance from Pluto to the sun is about how many times as great as the average distance from Mars to the sun?

Answer 1

$\frac{6 \times 10^9 \ km}{2 \times 10^8 \ km}=\frac{6}{2} \times \frac{10^9}{10^8}=3 \times 10^{9-8}=3 \times 10^1=30$

The average distance from Pluto to the Sun is 30 times as great as the average distance from Mars to the Sun.