High School

Determine the speed of light from the given data:

- Time taken to traverse the distance: 37.1 μs
- Measured distance: 11.12 km

Express your answer in SI units and in scientific notation, using the appropriate number of significant digits.

Answer :

Final answer:

To calculate the speed of light from the data given (37.1 μs to cover 11.12 km), you convert the time to seconds and apply the speed formula, yielding a result of 2.998 × 10⁵ km/s, which is in agreement with the known speed of light.

Explanation:

The question pertains to determining the speed of light given a time and distance measurement. The given data is 37.1 μs (microseconds) to traverse a distance of 11.12 km. The speed of light, c, is defined as c = ∆3 × 10⁸ m/s, which is scientifically noted as 3 × 10⁵ km/s.

To calculate the speed from the provided data, you use the formula:

Speed = Distance / Time

First, convert the time from microseconds to seconds: 37.1 μs = 37.1 × 10⁻⁶ s. Next, divide the distance by the time:

Speed = 11.12 km / (37.1 × 10⁻⁶ s)

Calculate the result in SI units and express it in scientific notation:

Speed = 2.998 × 10⁵ km/s