Answer
It takes 486 seconds for a conduction electron to move 1.0 centimeter along the wire.
Work Step by Step
We can write an expression for the drift speed:
$v_d = \frac{I}{n~q~A} = \frac{I}{n~q~\pi~r^2}$
$I$ is the current
$n$ is the number of electrons per unit of volume
$q$ is the charge of one electron
$A$ is the cross-sectional area
$r$ is the cross-sectional radius
We can find the drift speed $v_d$:
$v_d = \frac{I}{n~q~\pi~r^2}$
$v_d = \frac{150 \times 10^{-3}~A}{(5.8\times 10^{28}~m^{-3})(1.6\times 10^{-19}~C)~(\pi)~(5.0\times 10^{-4}~m)^2}$
$v_d = 2.058\times 10^{-5}~m/s$
We can find the time it takes to move 1.0 centimeter:
$t = \frac{d}{v_d}$
$t = \frac{1.0\times 10^{-2}~m}{2.058\times 10^{-5}~m/s}$
$t = 486~s$
It takes 486 seconds for a conduction electron to move 1.0 centimeter along the wire.
