Question

At the end of fiscal year 2024, the federal debt of Country C is $278,560,125,000. What is the closest ESTIMATION of this amount? Express your answer in the form of a single digit times an integer power of 10.

3 times 10 to the power of negative eleven
2.79 times 10 to the power of eleven
3 times 10 to the power of eleven
2 times 10 to the power of eleven

Answer 1

To estimate the federal debt of Country C, which is $278,560,125,000, we can first express this number in scientific notation.

1. First, we identify the significant figures in the number:
- The number $278,560,125,000 has its leading digit as 2, which gives us a significant relationship to work with.

2. To convert to scientific notation, we can express this as:
- \( 2.78560125 \times 10^{11} \)

3. Since the question asks for a closest estimation, we can round this to two significant figures:
- This gives \( 2.8 \times 10^{11} \), which is not one of the options but can be approximated based on the options provided.

4. Based on options given:
- The closest estimation that matches the form is **2.79 times \( 10^{11} \)**.

Therefore, the closest estimation of the federal debt of Country C at the end of fiscal year 2024 is **2.79 times \( 10^{11} \)**.