Quotient of Powers and Power of a Quotient
How Long Does It Take Sunlight to Reach Earth?
Cars, trains, and other motor vehicles can all travel very fast. One of the nation's fastest trains can reach a top speed of 150 miles per hour; that's 2.5 miles per second. There is nothing, however, that can travel faster than light. In the absence of air and other gases, the speed of light is approximately 671,000,000 miles per hour, or about 186,000 miles per second.
The Sun is Earth's greatest source of light. How long does it take sunlight to reach Earth?
To perform the calculations necessary to answer this question, you must work with very large numbers. It will be a much easier task if you work with numbers in scientific notation.
travel time |
= | distance from the Sun to Earthspeed of light |
| = | 9.3 x 107
1.86 x 105 |
To divide numbers in scientific notation, divide the coefficients first. Then, divide the powers by subtracting the exponents.
| = | 9.3
1.86 |
· | 107
105 |
|
| = | 5 | · | 102 |
You determined that it takes sunlight approximately 5 x 102 seconds to reach Earth.
To put that value in perspective:
5 x 102 seconds = 500 seconds.
How many minutes are in 495 seconds?
It takes approximately eight minutes for sunlight to reach Earth. That means that the light that you see on a sunny day actually left the Sun eight minutes before it reached you.
Power of a Quotient
Consider the expression 
. How would you simplify this expression? In this interactivity, you will learn how to apply the Power of a Quotient Property to raise a quotient to a power. Click the player button to begin.
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Quotient of Powers
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Quotient of Powers and Power of a Quotient Review
Now that you have explored the Quotient of Powers and Power of a Quotient Properties, it is time to review your knowledge and practice what you have learned. Click the player button to get started.
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