Question

The distance from Mercury to the Sun is 28.5 million miles. The distance from Neptune from the Sun is 2.8 billion miles. Express the distance between Mercury and Neptune in scientific notation

Answer 1

2.7715 x 10^9 miles

Explanation:

The distance from Mercury to the sun is 28.5 million miles which is 28.5 x 10^6 miles.

The distance from Neptune to the sun is 2.8 x 10^9 miles.

Then we know that:

Distance Neptune-Sun = Distance Neptune-Mercury + Distance Mercury-Sun

Solving for 'Distance Neptune-Mercury" we have that:

Distance Neptune-Mercury = Distance Neptune-Sun - Distance Mercury-Sun

Distance Neptune-Mercury = 2.8 x 10^9 miles - 28.5 x 10^6 miles.

Distance Neptune-Mercury = 2,771,500,000 miles

Which can be expressed: 2.7715 x 10^9