During an experiment, a signal from a spaceship reached the ground station in five minutes. What was the distance of the spaceship from the ground station? The signal travels at the speed of light, that is, 3 × 10⁸ ms^-1.

Given,

Time taken (t) = 5 min

Convert min into sec

1 min = 60 sec

So, 5 min = 5 x 60 sec = 300 sec

Speed of the signal = 3 × 10⁸ ms^-1

We know, speed = $\dfrac{\text{distance}}{\text{time}}$

Substituting the values, we get,

3 × 10⁸ = $\dfrac{\text{distance}}{300}$

Distance covered (d) = 3 × 10⁸ x 300 = 9 x 10¹⁰ m.

Hence, the distance of the spaceship from the ground station = 9 x 10¹⁰ m