Question

She says that the coffee cup fountain actually holds about 200 gallons ofcoffee.The newscaster claims that if the coffee fountain really broke, the 200gallons of coffee would cover the equivalent of half a city block.You look up some information.• One gallon of water covers about 13.8 square feet.• Near the mall, an average city block is about 300 feet by 300feet.Assume the fountain holds 200 gallons of coffee. Using the informationgiven, determine whether the newscaster's claim is correct.• Construct an argument that supports or refutes thenewscaster's claim.• Include mathematics to support your argument.

Answer 1

The averageA fountain holds 200 gallons

A gallon covers 13.8 sq ft.

Therefore, 200gallons is expected to cover about 200 x 13.8 = 2760 sq ft

Average city block is 300 ft by 300 ft.

Therefore, area of city block = 300 x 300 = 90,000 sq ft.

Half the area of the city block will be 90,000 / 2 = 45,000sq ft

However, the reporter claims that a volume would be able to cover 45,000 ft.

This assertion is false.