Final answer:
The number of football fields that would be covered by Mt. St. Helens ash to a depth of 10 feet depends on the total volume of the ash. Given the area of a football field is 1.32 acres, this area in square feet would be multiplied by the depth to find the volume of ash needed per football field. The total volume of ash divided by this number would result in the amount of football fields covered.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks how many football fields would be covered by Mt. St. Helens ash if spread out to a depth of 10 feet. First, we need to calculate the volume of the ash that can fit on a football field with a depth of 10 feet. Since the football field area is given in acres and we want to calculate volume, we must convert acres to square feet.
There are 43,560 square feet in one acre, so the area of the football field in square feet is 1.32 acres × 43,560 square feet/acre equals approximately 57,499.2 square feet. Now, calculate the volume by multiplying the area by the depth (10 feet). Therefore, the volume for one football field is 574,992 cubic feet.
To determine how many football fields the ash from Mt. St. Helens could cover, we would need the total volume of the ash. Since this volume is not provided, let us assume an estimated volume (V) of ash. The number of football fields covered (N) would be equal to the total volume of ash (V) divided by the volume of ash that fits onto one football field.
If the volume (V) were known, the calculation would be N = V / 574,992 cubic feet. Without the actual total volume of ash, we cannot complete the calculation.