A boy is playing with a water hose, which has an exit area of 10 cm2 and has water flowing at a rate of 2 m/s. If he covers
the opening of the hose with his thumb so that it now has an
open area of 2 cm2, what will be the new exit velocity of the
water?

The exit velocity of water is  B. 15 m/s.

Explanation:

According to equation of continuity, for a steady flow of water, the volume of liquid entering a pipe in 1 second is equal to the volume that leaves per second.

If the initial exit area of the pipe is A₁ and the speed of exit is v₁ and the final exit area is A₂ and its corresponding exit velocity  is v₂, then,

Rewrite the expression for v₂.

Substitute 10 cm² for A₁, 2 cm² for A₂ and 3 m/s for v₁.

The exit speed of water from the hose is 15 m/s.

one "light year" is the distance that light travels, through vacuum, in one julian year.   that's 365.25 days, of 24 hours each.