Question

the distance from the sun to the star proxima centauri is a little more than 4×10^16 meters. the distance from the sun to the cone nebula is about 8×10^16 meters. about how many times farther from the sun is the cone nebula than proxima centauri?

Explanation:

Step1: Identify the distances

The distance to Proxima Centauri is approximately $4\times 10^{16}$ meters and to the Cone Nebula is $8\times 10^{16}$ meters.

Step2: Calculate the ratio

To find out how many times farther the Cone Nebula is, we divide the distance to the Cone Nebula by the distance to Proxima Centauri. So, $\frac{8\times 10^{16}}{4\times 10^{16}}$.
Using the rule of exponents $\frac{a\times10^{m}}{b\times10^{n}}=\frac{a}{b}\times10^{m - n}$, here $a = 8$, $b=4$, $m = 16$, $n = 16$. Then $\frac{8}{4}\times10^{16-16}=2\times10^{0}=2$.

Answer:

2