Answer
(a) $91,419,000$ mi
(b) $94,581,000$ mi.
Work Step by Step
Identify the given quantities: ellipse length of the major axis $186,000,000$ mi, $e=0.017$
(a) The length of the major axis gives $2a=186,000,000$ and we have $a=93,000,000$ mi. The eccentricity $e=\frac{c}{a}=0.017$, we have $c=0.017a=1.581\times10^6$ mi. The distance of the Earth closest to the Sun is then $d_1=a-c=91,419,000$ mi
(b) The distance of the Earth farthest from the Sun is given by $d_2=a+c=94,581,000$ mi.
