One light year is equal to

Options

A. `9.46xx10^(-15)m`
B. `9.46 xx 10^(15)m`
C. `9.46xx10^(-13)m`
D. `9.46 xx10^(13)m`

Explanation

To find out what one light year is equal to, we will follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the definition of a light year
A light year is defined as the distance that light travels in one year in a vacuum.

### Step 2: Determine the speed of light
The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately \(3 \times 10^8\) meters per second.

### Step 3: Calculate the total time in seconds for one year
To convert one year into seconds:
- There are 365 days in a year (ignoring leap years for simplicity).
- Each day has 24 hours.
- Each hour has 60 minutes.
- Each minute has 60 seconds.

So, the total number of seconds in one year is calculated as follows:
\[ \text{Total seconds in one year} = 365 \times 24 \times 60 \times 60 = 3.15 \times 10^7 \text{ seconds} \]

### Step 4: Calculate the distance covered by light in one year
Using the formula for distance:
\[ \text{Distance} = \text{Speed} \times \text{Time} \]
Substituting the values we have:
\[ \text{Distance} = (3 \times 10^8 \text{ m/s}) \times (3.15 \times 10^7 \text{ s}) \]

### Step 5: Perform the multiplication
Now we will multiply the two values:
\[ \text{Distance} = 3 \times 3.15 \times 10^{8+7} = 9.45 \times 10^{15} \text{ meters} \]

### Conclusion
Thus, one light year is approximately equal to:
\[ \text{1 light year} \approx 9.46 \times 10^{15} \text{ meters} \]