Question

Suppose the geographic areas of California and the US are 1.637×10⁵ and 3.794×10⁶sq. mi., respectively. California’s population (as of 2012) is approximately 3.804×10⁷ people. If population were proportional to area, what would be the U.S. population?

Answer 1

To determine the U.S. population based on the proportionality of area and population, set up a proportion using the areas and populations of California and the U.S. Solve for the U.S. population by cross multiplying and dividing. The U.S. population is approximately 8.824×10^8 people.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the population of the U.S. based on the proportionality of area and population, we can set up a proportion using the geographic areas of California and the U.S. and the population of California:

(Population of California) / (Area of California) = (Population of U.S.) / (Area of U.S.)

Substituting the given values, we have:

(3.804×10^7) / (1.637×10^5) = (Population of U.S.) / (3.794×10^6)

Cross multiplying and solving for the population of the U.S., we get:

(Population of U.S.) = (3.804×10^7) / (1.637×10^5) * (3.794×10^6)

Calculating the expression on the right-hand side, we find that the population of the U.S. is approximately 8.824×10^8 people.