Suppose you have Avogadro\'s number of mini marshmallows and use them to cover the state of California which has a land area of 1.560 × 105 mi2. Each mini marshmallow has a diameter of 0.635 cm and a height of 2.54 cm. Assuming the marshmallows are packed together so there is no space between them, to what height above the surface, in kilometers, will the mini marshmallows extend?

Question

PLEASE HELP!!

Answer 1

Do this.
Convert 1.560E5 square miles to cm^2. 1 square mile = 2.6E10 cm^2.
I get approx 4E15 cn^2 but that's a close estimate only for the area of the state of CA. If you think of a square state (the easy way I think to do this) so a square with sides of approx 6.4E7 cm. Then knowing the diameter of a minimarshmallow is 0.635 cm we could fit along each edge
(0.635 cm/1 marsh)x #marsh = 6.4E7.
Then (#marsh)^2 = total marshmallows to make the first layer. Each layer is 2.54 cm high.
(# marsh/layer)x2.54 x #layers = 6.02E23. Solve for # layers. Check my work. It's late.

Answer 2

Suppose you have Avogadro\'s number of mini marshmallows and use them to cover the state of North Dakota which has a land area of 6.898 × 104 mi2. Each mini marshmallow has a diameter of 0.635 cm and a height of 2.54 cm. Assuming the marshmallows are packed together so there is no space between them, to what height above the surface, in kilometers, will the mini marshmallows extend?