To determine which statement is true, we need to compare the given distances from Earth to the two astronomical bodies:
1. The distance from Earth to the Sun is provided as 149 million kilometers.
2. The distance from Earth to the star (Astar) is given as 4.4 light years.
Let's clarify the units and understand the comparison process:
- 1 light year is the distance that light travels in one year in a vacuum. This distance is approximately 9.461 trillion kilometers (9.461 x 10^12 kilometers).
To make an accurate comparison, we need to convert the distance to Astar from light years to kilometers:
1. Distance to Astar (in light years) = 4.4 light years
2. Conversion factor: 1 light year = 9.461 trillion kilometers
Therefore, the distance to Astar in kilometers is:
[tex]\[ 4.4 \text{ light years} = 4.4 \times 9.461 \text{ trillion kilometers} \][/tex]
Calculating this:
[tex]\[ 4.4 \times 9.461 \text{ trillion kilometers} = 41.6284 \text{ trillion kilometers} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ \text{Or in scientific notation: } 4.4 \times 9.461 \times 10^{12} \text{ kilometers} \approx 41.6284 \times 10^{12} \text{ kilometers} \][/tex]
Now, we have the distances in the same units (kilometers):
- Distance from Earth to Sun: 149 million kilometers (which is [tex]\( 1.49 \times 10^{8} \)[/tex] kilometers)
- Distance from Earth to Astar: 41.6284 trillion kilometers (which is [tex]\( 41.6284 \times 10^{12} \)[/tex] kilometers)
Clearly, [tex]\( 41.6284 \times 10^{12} \)[/tex] kilometers is significantly greater than [tex]\( 1.49 \times 10^{8} \)[/tex] kilometers.
Therefore, we can conclude that:
Earth is closer to the Sun than it is to the star Astar.
The true statement among the given options is:
Earth is closer to the sun than to the star.
