Question

The mean distance of the earth from the sun (let's call it d) is 93 million miles. The distance varies as much as 1.6 million miles. Write the equation that describes the possible distances of the earth from the sun, using as distance unit millions of miles.

Use d as the variable

(this is copy-pasted from the textbook)

Answer 1

The equation that can be used to describe the possible distances of the Earth from the Sun, with the distances given in million of miles is;

d = 93 ± 1.6

Explanation:

The parameters given are;

The mean distance of the Earth from the Sun, d = 93 million

The amount by which the distance varies = 1.6 million

Therefore, the equation that can be used to describe the possible distances of the Earth from the Sun, with the distances given in million of miles is given as follows;

d = 93 ± 1.6

Therefore, the range of values for the distance of the Earth from the Sun can be presented as follows;

93 - 1.6 ≤ d ≤ 93 + 106

Which gives

91.4 ≤ d ≤ 94.6