Question

tectonic plates are large segments of the earths crust that move slowly. suppose that one such plate has an average speed of 3.3 cm/year. (a) what distance does it move in 1 s at this speed? your answer cannot be understood or graded. more information m (b) what is its speed in kilometers per million years? km/million years

Explanation:

Step1: Convert speed to m/s

First, convert 3.3 cm/year to m/s.
1 cm = 0.01 m, 1 year = $365\times24\times3600 = 3.1536\times10^7$ s.
Speed $v = \frac{3.3\times0.01}{3.1536\times10^7}$ m/s
$v = \frac{0.033}{3.1536\times10^7} \approx 1.046\times10^{-9}$ m/s

Step2: Calculate distance in 1 s

Distance $d = v \times t$, $t=1$ s.
$d = 1.046\times10^{-9} \times 1 = 1.046\times10^{-9}$ m

Step3: Convert speed to km/million years

1 cm = $10^{-5}$ km, 1 million years = $10^6$ years.
Speed $v = 3.3\times10^{-5} \times 10^6$ km/million years
$v = 3.3\times10 = 33$ km/million years

Answer:

(a) $\boldsymbol{1.05\times10^{-9}}$ m (rounded to 3 significant figures)
(b) $\boldsymbol{33}$ km/million years