Exxon Valdez dumped 10.8 million gallons of oil into the waters of Prince william sound. IF this spill had happened in open water, how many square miles of ocean would be covered by an oil slick that is 0.5mm thick? Is this enough to cover the city of Fort wayne (94 square miles)?

Answer 1

10.8 million gal=1.08x10^7 gal
(1.08x10^7 gal)(3.78 dm^3/gal) = 4.08x10^7 dm^3
0.5 mm /100 mm/dm = 0.005 dm
V = Ah, where h is the film thickness.
4.08x10^7 dm^3 = A(0.005 dm)
(A = area of spill)
A = 8.16x10^9 dm^2
1 m^2 = 100 dm^2
A = 8.16x10^7 m^2
1 mile^2 = (1609m)^2= 2.59x10^6 m^2
I will let you convert the area to square miles on your own.