Approximately how many feet per second is the speed of light?

Approximately how many feet per second is the speed of light?

• A. 984,300,000 ft/s
• B. 1,048,000,000 ft/s
• C. 500,000,000 ft/s
• D. 328 ft/s

Answer: (A)

The speed of light is a universal constant in vacuum, about 3.00 × 10^8 meters per second. To express that in feet per second, use the conversion 1 meter ≈ 3.28084 feet. Multiply: 3.00 × 10^8 m/s × 3.28084 ft/m ≈ 9.84 × 10^8 ft/s, which is about 984,000,000 ft/s. Using the exact value for c gives roughly 983,571,000 ft/s, still close to 9.84 × 10^8 ft/s when rounded. So the option near 984,300,000 ft/s is the correct rounded conversion. The other numbers don’t fit because 328 ft/s is the speed of sound in air, not light, and the remaining figures are not consistent with the precise conversion.

The speed of light is a universal constant in vacuum, about 3.00 × 10^8 meters per second. To express that in feet per second, use the conversion 1 meter ≈ 3.28084 feet. Multiply: 3.00 × 10^8 m/s × 3.28084 ft/m ≈ 9.84 × 10^8 ft/s, which is about 984,000,000 ft/s. Using the exact value for c gives roughly 983,571,000 ft/s, still close to 9.84 × 10^8 ft/s when rounded. So the option near 984,300,000 ft/s is the correct rounded conversion. The other numbers don’t fit because 328 ft/s is the speed of sound in air, not light, and the remaining figures are not consistent with the precise conversion.