The Scale of the Solar System: AU and Light-Years: Practice Problem Solutions

1. About 149.6 million km.

2. About 8 minutes 20 seconds.

3. About 5.2 x 8.3 minutes = about 43 minutes.

4. Distance. It is how far light travels in one year.

5. About 9.46 trillion km.

6. About 11 meters away and about 1 mm wide.

7. Because distances in kilometers are too huge to work with. The AU suits our solar system; light-years suit the stars.