Final answer:
To estimate the crowd size at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, the total area (length times depth) the crowd occupies is calculated and divided by the area occupied per person. Approximately 113,143 people can be estimated to be in the crowd.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student has asked a question related to estimating crowd size, which is a practical application of mathematics, specifically within the area of measurement and estimation. To estimate the number of people in the crowd at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, given the conditions that the crowd is along a 2.5 mile parade route with a depth of 15 feet, and assuming each person occupies 1.75 square feet, we need to calculate the area the crowd is occupying and divide it by the area occupied per person.
First, we convert the length of the parade into feet: 2.5 miles * 5280 feet/mile = 13200 feet. Then, we calculate the total area available for the crowd by multiplying the length by the depth: 13200 feet * 15 feet = 198000 square feet. Lastly, we divide the total area by the area occupied by each person: 198000 square feet ÷ 1.75 square feet/person ≈ 113142.86 people. Therefore, we can estimate that approximately 113,143 people are in the crowd.