Question

A gallon of water weighs about 8.3 lb. An Olympic-sized swimming pool holds 6.6×10^5 gallons. What is the approximate weight of the water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool? Write the answer in scientific notation.

Answer 1

To find the approximate weight of the water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, we can use the following steps:

1. **Weight of Water per Gallon**: We know that each gallon of water weighs approximately 8.3 lb.

2. **Volume of the Pool**: An Olympic-sized swimming pool holds about 6.6 × 10^5 gallons.

3. **Total Weight Calculation**:
\[
\text{Total weight} = \text{Weight per gallon} \times \text{Number of gallons}
\]
\[
\text{Total weight} = 8.3 \, \text{lb/gallon} \times 6.6 \times 10^5 \, \text{gallons}
\]

4. **Perform the Multiplication**:
\[
8.3 \times 6.6 = 54.78
\]
Therefore, we have:
\[
\text{Total weight} = 54.78 \times 10^5 \, \text{lb}
\]

5. **Convert to Scientific Notation**:
To express \( 54.78 \) in scientific notation:
\[
54.78 = 5.478 \times 10^1
\]
Thus:
\[
\text{Total weight} = 5.478 \times 10^1 \times 10^5 \, \text{lb} = 5.478 \times 10^{6} \, \text{lb}
\]

6. **Rounding**: Since the original data provided was approximate (8.3 lb), we can round the final answer for simplicity.

The approximate weight of the water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool is:
\[
\approx 5.5 \times 10^6 \, \text{lb}
\]

Thus, the final answer is:
\[
\boxed{5.5 \times 10^6 \, \text{lb}}
\]