Question 280490
velocity of light is 6.71 * 10^8 miles per hour.
mercury is approximately 5.78 * 10^7 kilometers from the sun.
how many minutes for the light to get from the sun to mercury?


1 kilometer = 0.621371192 miles


divide both sides of this equation by .621371192 and you get:


1 mile = 1.609344001 kilometers


this means that 5.78 * 10^7 kilometers equals 9.302008324 * 10^7 miles.


1 minute = 1 hour / 60


this means that 6.71 * 10^8 miles per hour equals .111833333333 * 10^8 miles per minute.


Rate * Time = Distance


This translates to:


Time = Distance / Rate


Our distance is 9.302008324 * 10^7 miles


Our rate is .111833333333 * 10^8 miles per minute.


We divide (9.302008324 * 10^7) by (.111833333333 * 10^8) to get:


{{{(9.302008324 * 10^7)/(.111833333333 * 10^8) = (9.302008324 / .111833333333) * (10^7 / 10^8) = 83.17742167 * 10^-1 = 8.317742167}}} minutes.


Answer is:


It takes 8.317742167 minutes for light to reach mercury from the sun.