Question

light travels at a speed of about 1.86×10^5 miles per second. suppose a space - ship is able to travel at the speed of light. if the distance around earth along the equator is about 2.5×10^4 miles, how many times could the space ship travel around the earth in 1 second? round to the nearest tenth if necessary.

Explanation:

Step1: Identify the given values

Speed of light $v_{light}=1.86\times 10^{5}$ miles per second, distance around Earth along the equator $d = 2.5\times 10^{4}$ miles.

Step2: Calculate the number of times

We use the formula $n=\frac{v_{light}}{d}$, where $n$ is the number of times the space - ship could travel around the Earth in 1 second. Substitute the values:
\[

$$\begin{align*} n&=\frac{1.86\times 10^{5}}{2.5\times 10^{4}}\\ &=\frac{1.86}{2.5}\times10^{5 - 4}\\ & = 0.744\times10^{1}\\ &=7.44 \end{align*}$$

\]

Step3: Round the result

Rounding 7.44 to the nearest tenth gives 7.4.

Answer:

7.4