a) The distance between Los Angeles and Washington D.C. is 4,297 kilometers. Express this distance in meters, centimeters, and millimeters. (b) The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has mirrors coated with gold. The thickness of the gold coating is 100 nanometers. What is the thickness of the gold coating in meters?
Table 2.3 Unit Prefixes
Prefix Abbreviation Scientific Notation Example
giga− G x 1,000,000,000 = x 10+9 1 GB = 10+9 bytes
mega− M x 1,000,000 = x 10+6 1 MB = 10+6 bytes
kilo− k x 1000 = x 10+3 1 kg = 1000 g or 1 g = 10−3 kg
deci− d x 0.1 = x 10−1 1 dm = 0.1 m or 1m = 10−1 dm
centi− c x 0.01 = x 10−2 1 cm = 0.01 m or 1 cm = 10^(−2)m
milli− m x 0.001 = x 10−3 1 mL = 10−3 L or 1000 mL = 1 L
micro− µ x 0.000001 = x 10−6 1 µm = 10−6 m or 1 m = 10^6 µm
nano− n x 0.000000001 = x 10−9 1 ng = 10−9 g or 1 g = 10^9 ng
pico− p x 0.000000000001 = x 10−12 1 ps = 10−12 s or 1s =10^12p
Use the unit prefix information in Table 2.3 to work the following problems. Express each answer in
scientific notation. Use two digits.
(a) The distance between Los Angeles and Washington D.C. is 4,297 kilometers. Express this distance in meters, centimeters, and millimeters.
(b) The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has mirrors coated with gold. The thickness of the gold coating is 100 nanometers. What is the thickness of the gold coating in meters?
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