How to find negative and positive rate?

While listening to operatic solos, musicians process the lyrics and the tunes in separate brain areas. this most clearly illustrates the functioning of different

Light from the sun reaches the earth in 8.3 minutes. the velocity is 3.00 x 10^8 m/s. how far is earth from the sun? i know how to get to d = (3 x 10^8 m/s)(498 sec). i just don't know how to get from there to the answer being 1.5 x 10^11 m.

Aheavy piece of hanging sculpture is suspended by a90-cm-long, 5.0 g steel wire. when the wind blows hard, the wire hums at its fundamental frequency of 80hz. what is the mass of the sculpture?