The average newborn weighs 7.5 pounds. About 4.1×106babies are born in the United States every year. What is the approximate total weight in pounds of all the babies born in the U.S. in a year? Write the answer in scientific notation, expressed to the exact decimal place. __pounds

1 answer

To find the approximate total weight in pounds of all the babies born in the U.S. in a year, we can use the following formula:

\[ \text{Total weight} = \text{Average weight per baby} \times \text{Number of babies} \]

Given:

  • The average weight per newborn is \(7.5\) pounds.
  • The number of newborns is approximately \(4.1 \times 10^6\).

Now we can calculate the total weight:

\[ \text{Total weight} = 7.5 , \text{pounds} \times 4.1 \times 10^6 , \text{babies} \]

Calculating \(7.5 \times 4.1\):

\[ 7.5 \times 4.1 = 30.75 \]

Now, we multiply \(30.75\) by \(10^6\):

\[ \text{Total weight} \approx 30.75 \times 10^6 \]

To express this in proper scientific notation, we need to adjust \(30.75\):

\[ 30.75 = 3.075 \times 10^1 \]

So, we can rewrite the total weight:

\[ 30.75 \times 10^6 = 3.075 \times 10^1 \times 10^6 = 3.075 \times 10^{1 + 6} = 3.075 \times 10^7 \]

Thus, the approximate total weight in pounds of all the babies born in the U.S. in a year is:

\[ \boxed{3.075 \times 10^7} \text{ pounds} \]