The speed of light in vacuum is 3 × 10 8 m/s. Sunlight takes about 8 minutes to reach the Earth. Express distance of the Sun from Earth in standard form
To calculate this distance, we use the formula:
Distance = Speed × Time
Given:
- Speed of Light in Vacuum: 3 × 10⁸ m/s
- Time for Sunlight to Reach Earth: About 8 minutes
Since we need the time in seconds for our calculation, we convert 8 minutes to seconds:
8 minutes= 8 × 60 seconds = 480 seconds
Now, let us calculate the distance:
Distance =3 × 108 m/s × 480 s = 1.44 × 1011 meters
So, the distance from the Sun to Earth is 1.44 × 10¹¹ meters. This distance is also referred to as 1 Astronomical Unit (AU), which is a standard unit of measurement in astronomy for expressing distances within our solar system.