Question

The U.S. national debt was
in 2021 and
in 1971. Find
how much the debt increased
in the 50-year period.
(1 point)
$2.9617 × 10
13
$3.98 × 10
11
$3.0015 × 10
13
$2.9219 × 10
13
$1.0183 × 10
24
$2.9219 × 10
11

Answer 1

To determine how much the U.S. national debt increased over the 50-year period from 1971 to 2021, we need the values of the national debt in each of those years.

- National debt in 1971: Approximately $398 billion (\(3.98 \times 10^{11}\))
- National debt in 2021: Approximately $29.62 trillion (\(2.962 \times 10^{13}\))

Now, let's calculate the increase in the national debt:

1. Convert both amounts to the same unit for comparison:

\[
\text{Debt in 1971: } 3.98 \times 10^{11} \text{ (which is } 398 \text{ billion)}
\]

\[
\text{Debt in 2021: } 2.962 \times 10^{13} \text{ (which is } 29,620 \text{ billion)}
\]

2. Find the increase in debt:

\[
\text{Increase} = \text{Debt in 2021} - \text{Debt in 1971}
\]
\[
\text{Increase} = (2.962 \times 10^{13}) - (3.98 \times 10^{11})
\]

Since \(3.98 \times 10^{11}\) is a much smaller number compared to \(2.962 \times 10^{13}\), we can approximate the increase directly as:

\[
\text{Increase} \approx 2.962 \times 10^{13}
\]

3. Thus, the increase in national debt over the 50-year period is approximately \(2.9617 \times 10^{13}\).

The closest option from your list is:

\[
\boxed{2.9617 \times 10^{13}}
\]