Question

2. Suppose there are 6 million people in New York City that walk an average of 2.5 miles per day. If we add up all the miles walked by these 6 million how many times around the Earth would these walkers have gone? Assume the distance around the Earth is 2.5 * 10 ^ 4 miles. Write your result in scientific notation.

Answer 1

Number of people:

6 million =
`6` ×
`10^(6)`

Distance to walk:

2.5 miles every day per person

Distance around the Earth

`2.5` ×
`10^(4)`

Total distance walked:

`6` ×
`10^(6)` ×
`2.5`
`= 15` ×
`10^(6)`

The ratio of total distance to the distance around the Earth:

`15` ×
`10^(6)` /
`2.5` ×
`10^(4)` =
`6` ×
`10^(2)` =
`600`

Answer 2

• 600 times

Explanation:

Given

Number of people:

• 6 million = 6*10^6

Distance to walk:

• 2.5 miles per day per person

Distance around the Earth

• 2.5*10^4

Solution

Total distance walked:

• 6*10^6*2.5 = 15*10^6

The ratio of total distance to the distance around the Earth:

• 15*10^6 / 2.5*10^4 = 6*10^2 = 600 times