The Amazon River releases 5.5 x 107 gallons of water into the Atlantic Ocean every second. There are about 3.2 x 10' seconds in a year.
How many gallons are released into the ocean in one year? Express your answer with the appropriate number of significant digits.
To find the total number of gallons released into the ocean in one year, we need to multiply the number of gallons released per second by the number of seconds in a year.
Given:
Rate of release: 5.5 x 10^7 gallons/second
Number of seconds in a year: 3.2 x 10^7 seconds
Therefore, the total number of gallons released in one year is:
(5.5 x 10^7 gallons/second) x (3.2 x 10^7 seconds) = 1.76 x 10^15 gallons.
Rounded to the appropriate number of significant digits, the answer is 1.8 x 10^15 gallons.