Task: A Journey to Earth Every moment of every day, light pours out from the Sun at the center of our solar system and travels to Earth. It does not arrive at Earth instantaneously though--it takes time to get here! Your task is to determine how long it takes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth.
1. The formula for the velocity of an object is d=vt, where v is the velocity of the object, d is the distance traveled, and t is the time the object takes to travel that distance.
A. Which variable should you isolate in order to determine how long it takes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth?
B. What values do you need to know to calculate how long it takes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth?
2. Solve for the variable that you identified in Part 1a. Show all steps.
3. Search the Internet for the values of the variables that you need from Part 1b. Report your values in terms of meters, seconds, and/or meters per second. You should use the terms velocity, distance, light, and meters in your search.
4. Using the formula that you rearranged in Part 2 and the values you found in Part 3, calculate the time it takes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth. Show all steps.
Task: Freefalling
Felix Baumgartner is a daredevil famous for breaking the sound barrier during a freefall on October 14, 2012. Aided by a weather balloon, he climbed to a height of 128,100 feet. More than 24 miles in the air, he was so high up that he could see Earth’s curvature. He then jumped out of the capsule that carried him. On the way down, he traveled at an average of 335.92 miles per hour. At one point, Baumgartner was traveling as fast as 720 miles per hour, breaking the sound barrier and the record for the highest skydive ever attempted!
5. Using the formula that you derived in Part 2, how long did it take Felix Baumgartner to reach the ground in minutes? Be careful with the unit conversions and show all steps.