Ontario Grade 9 Destreamed Science (SNC1W1) 2026 Practice Exam

The distance that light travels in one year is known as a light-year. Light travels at an approximate speed of 299,792 kilometers per second in a vacuum. To calculate the distance light travels in one year, we can use the following steps:

1. Calculate the number of seconds in a year:

- There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day. So, 60 seconds x 60 minutes x 24 hours x 365 days equals approximately 31,536,000 seconds in a year.

2. Multiply the speed of light by the number of seconds in a year:

- 299,792 kilometers per second multiplied by 31,536,000 seconds equals approximately 9.46 trillion kilometers.

This value is widely accepted and is used in astronomical contexts to express vast distances. The approximate distance of 9.46 trillion kilometers accurately represents the travel distance of light over the course of one year, which is why this choice is the correct one.