Question

The current theory of the structure of the earth, called plate tectonics, tells us that the continents are in constant motion. assume that the north american continent can be represented by a slab of rock 4950 km on a side and 36 km deep and that the rock has an average mass density of 2630 kg/m?. the continent is moving at the rate of about 1 1.8 cm/year. what is the mass of the continent?

Answer 1

The mass of the North American continent, represented as a slab of rock, is calculated using volume multiplied by density. First, the volume is obtained by converting the given dimensions from kilometers to meters, then this volume is multiplied by the rock's average mass density.

Step-by-step explanation:

The mass of the North American continent, represented as a slab of rock, can be calculated using the provided dimensions and density of the rock. First, we need to find the volume of the slab by multiplying its length, width, and depth: 4950 km on each side, and 36 km deep. Since the density is given in kg/m3, we need to convert the dimensions to meters before calculating the volume. After finding the volume, we multiply it by the rock's density to obtain the mass of the continent.

Volume = 4950 km x 4950 km x 36 km = 4950 x 103 m x 4950 x 103 m x 36 x 103 m = (49502 x 36) x 109 m3

Since 1 km = 1000 m, multiplying the dimensions in kilometers by 1000 will convert them to meters. Next, we calculate the continental mass:

Mass = Volume x Density = (49502 x 36) x 109 m3 x 2630 kg/m3

Mass = (49502 x 36 x 2630) x 109 kg

Thus, we'll perform the multiplication to get the continent's mass in kilograms.