Question

Recent statistics have reported that the total area of Brazil is about 3 × 106 square miles, while the total area of Japan is about 2 × 105 square miles.

Create and solve an equation that can be used to find about how many times larger the area of Brazil is than the area of Japan.

Answer 1

3time106=318. 2 times 105=210
318-210=108square miles

Answer 2

The ratio in which Brazil is larger than Japan is:

• 1.51 times bigger.

Explanation:

Since the data for the area of Japan and the area of Brazil are provided in square miles, the following equation can be used to calculate the ratio of the area of Brazil to the area of Japan:

• Area ratio = Area of the largest country / Area of the smallest country.

As can be seen with the naked eye, the area of Brazil is larger than that of Japan, taking into account these data the equation is replaced:

• Area ratio = 3 × 106 square miles / 2 × 105 square miles.

The units are canceled and the division is performed obtaining:

• Area ratio = 1.514285714

Therefore, the approximate answer is: 1.51 times Brazil is larger than Japan.