User Manual

Name ___________________________

Date ___________________________

Problem

You are a captain of a starship in the distant future. You have been assigned to go to

Alpha Centauri and you have 5 years to get there. The distance from our sun to

Alpha Centauri is 2.5 x 10

miles. The distance from the earth to our sun is

approximately 9.3 x 10

miles.

Although we have not yet discovered how to travel at the speed of light, you live in a

time where your ship can travel at the speed of light.

Light travels the approximate distance of 6 x 10

miles in 1 light year. You will take

a path from earth by our sun and then on to Alpha Centauri. Will you be able to get

to Alpha Centauri on time?

Procedure

1. Using the TI-30XS MultiView™ calculator, find the total distance that you need

to travel. For this rough estimate, assume that you are measuring the distance as

a straight line from the earth to our sun and then on to Alpha Centauri.

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Hint: Make sure your calculator is in scientific notation mode before you begin the calculation.

Next, find out how long it will take you to travel the distance.

(Distance traveled ¾ 1 light year)

Hint: Make sure you use parentheses if needed in order to get the correct result for this division problem.

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2. Can you make the trip in the allotted time of 5 years?

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Extension

Now that you have been successful, you have been asked to make another trip. The

distance from the Sun to Delta Centauri is 9 x 10

miles. How long will it take you to

get there from Earth?

Hint: The Earth is approximately 9.3 ¿ 10

miles from the Sun.

Your trip on this starship is fictitious. If you are

interested in finding out more about the nearest

star and cosmic distances, visit NASA web sites on

the Internet.

Star voyage —

scientific notation