Radio waves travel at the speed of light, which is 3.00 * 10⁸ m/s. How many kilometers will radio messages travel in exactly one year A) 9.46 * 10¹⁵ km B) 7.30 * 10⁸ km C) 7.10 * 10¹⁰ km D) 9.46 * 10¹² km E) 3.33 * 10^-3 km

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate the distance traveled in one year, we need to multiply the speed of light by the number of seconds in a year. 
Number of seconds in a year = 365 days/year x 24 hours/day x 60 minutes/hour x 60 seconds/minute = 31,536,000 seconds/year.
Distance traveled in one year = speed of light x time 
Distance = (3.00 x 10^8 m/s) x (31,536,000 s/year) = 9.46 x 10^12 m/year
Converting meters to kilometers, we get 9.46 x 10^12 m/year = 9.46 x 10^9 km/year, which is closest to option D, 9.46 x 10^12 km/year.

Radio Waves Travel at the Speed of Light, Which Is