Question

The space shuttle, Endeavor, is launched to altitude of 500 km above the surface of the earth. The shuttle travels an average rate of 700 m/s. How long will it take for Endeavor to reach its orbit?

Answer 1

Approximately `700` seconds.

Explanation:

There are `1000` metres in a kilometre, so `500` km is `500000` m.

So if the figures `500` km and `700` m/s were exact, then the exact time taken would be:

`(500xx1000)/700 = 714.bar(285714)` seconds

Since both original figures are only given to one significant digit, it is probably better to say: approximately `700` seconds.