How many stacked pennies would reach the moon? (assume that a penny is 1 mm thick.)?
The correct answer and explanation is:
To calculate how many stacked pennies would reach the moon, we need to find out the distance from Earth to the Moon and then divide it by the thickness of a penny.
Step 1: Distance from Earth to the Moon
The average distance from Earth to the Moon is about 384,400 km.
Step 2: Convert the distance into millimeters
Since 1 kilometer is 1,000,000 millimeters, the distance in millimeters would be: 384,400 km×1,000,000=384,400,000,000 mm384,400 \text{ km} \times 1,000,000 = 384,400,000,000 \text{ mm}
Step 3: Thickness of a penny
A penny is approximately 1 mm thick.
Step 4: Number of pennies
To find how many pennies stacked on top of each other would reach the Moon, divide the total distance by the thickness of one penny: 384,400,000,000 mm1 mm per penny=384,400,000,000 pennies\frac{384,400,000,000 \text{ mm}}{1 \text{ mm per penny}} = 384,400,000,000 \text{ pennies}
Conclusion
So, about 384.4 billion pennies would need to be stacked to reach the Moon.
This is a huge number, highlighting just how vast the distance to the Moon is in comparison to everyday objects. Stacking pennies to the Moon would require an enormous amount of space and would likely span a huge area on Earth, showing just how far away our lunar neighbor really is. The process also helps to appreciate the scale of space in comparison to objects that seem relatively small in size, like pennies.