To determine how much the debt increased over the 50-year period, we need to find the difference between the debt in 2021 and the debt in 1971.
Debt in 2021: 2.9617 * 10^13
Debt in 1971: 3.98 * 10^11
Debt increased = Debt in 2021 - Debt in 1971
= (2.9617 * 10^13) - (3.98 * 10^11)
To subtract these values, we need to have them in the same exponent format. Let's convert both of them to scientific notation with the same exponent:
Debt in 2021 = 29.617 * 10^12
Debt in 1971 = 0.398 * 10^13
Now we can subtract them:
Debt increased = (29.617 * 10^12) - (0.398 * 10^13)
= 29.617 * 10^12 - 0.398 * 10^13
To subtract these values, we keep the same exponent since they are already in scientific notation and subtract the coefficients:
Debt increased = 29.617 - 0.398 = 29.219
Therefore, the debt increased by approximately 29.219 * 10^12 or $29.219 trillion over the 50-year period.