Questions: A student sets up the following equation to convert a measurement. (The ? stands for a number the student is going to calculate.) Fill in the missing part of this equation.
(-5.3 × 10^5 cm) ·[] =? km
Transcript text: A student sets up the following equation to convert a measurement.
(The ? stands for a number the student is going to calculate.)
Fill in the missing part of this equation.
\[
\left(-5.3 \times 10^{5} \mathrm{~cm}\right) \cdot[]=? \mathrm{~km}
\]
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Recognize the Conversion Rate
To convert centimeters to kilometers, we use the conversion rate that 1 km equals 100,000 cm.
Step 2: Calculate the Conversion Factor (\(\alpha\))
Given the equation \((x \times 10^{n} \mathrm{~cm}) \cdot \alpha =? \mathrm{~km}\), we solve for \(\alpha\) by setting up the equation \(\alpha = \frac{1}{100,000}\).
Step 3: Substitute the Given Values and Solve
Substituting the given values of \(x = -5.3\) and \(n = 5\) into the equation, we calculate the converted value in kilometers.
\[(-5.3 \times 10^{5} \mathrm{~cm}) \cdot \times 10^{-5} = -5.3 \mathrm{~km}\]
Final Answer:
The measurement of -5.3 \times 10^{5} cm converts to -5.3 km.