If the diameter of our galaxy is approximately 100,000 light-years,our galaxy is __________ times larger than our Solar System. A) 100 B) 10⁴ C) 10⁶ D) 10⁸

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The diameter of our Solar System is about 100 astronomical units, or 9.3 x 10^11 meters. The diameter of our galaxy is about 100,000 light-years, or 9.5 x 10^20 meters. Dividing the diameter of our galaxy by the diameter of our Solar System gives us:

(9.5 x 10^20 meters) / (9.3 x 10^11 meters) = 10^9.97

Rounding to the nearest power of 10 gives us 10^16, which is option C. Therefore, our galaxy is approximately 10^16 times larger than our Solar System.

If the Diameter of Our Galaxy Is Approximately 100,000 Light-Years,our