It takes light from the Sun approximately 8 minutes to reach the Earth. The speed of light is 3 × 10 8 m s (this is 3 followed by eight zeros). Use this data to calculate the approximate distance of the Earth from the Sun.

Given, Speed of light v = 3 × 10 8 m s Time taken by light from the sun to reach the earth t = 8 minutes = 8 × 60 s = 480 s Let s be the distance of the earth from the sun. Speed is the distance covered by a body in unit time. Speed = distance time Therefore, distance = speed × time s = v × t s = 3 × 10 8 × 480 s = 1440 × 10 8 m s = 1 . 44 × 10 8 km The approximate distance between the earth and the sun is 1 . 44 × 10 8 km