Question

The Chesapeake Bay holds about 18 trillion gallons of water. The bay covers 4,480 square miles or 2,867,200 acres. Each acre can hold 750,000 oysters. Each oyster can filter 50 gallons of water each day. Can there be enough oysters to filter the whole Chesapeake Bay in one day

Answer 1

There are enough oysters

Explanation:

Given

`Volume = 18\ trillion\ gallon`

`Area = 2867200\ acre`

`1\ acre = 750000\ oysters`

`1\ oyster = 50\ gallons`

Required

Determine if there is enough water for a day

We have:

`1\ oyster = 50\ gallons`

Convert to oysters: multiply both sides by 750000

`750000 * 1\ oyster = 50\ gallon *750000`

`750000\ oysters = 37500000\ gallons`

Given that:

`1\ acre = 750000\ oysters`

So, we have:

`1\ acre= 37500000\ gallons`

Convert to acre: Multiply by 2867200

`2867200 * 1\ acre= 37500000\ gallons * 2867200`

`2867200\ acres= 107520000000000\ gallons`

By comparison:

`18000000000000\ gallons < 107520000000000\ gallons`

i.e. the volume of water in the bay is less than the capacity of the oysters. Hence, there are enough oysters.