The u.s national debate was 2.9617*10¹³ in 2021 and 3.98*10¹¹ in 1971 find how much the debt increased in the 50 yr period

Answer 1

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.