The average newborn weighs 7.5 pounds. About 4.1 × 10⁶ babies 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.

Answer 1

To calculate the total weight of all the babies born in the U.S. in a year, we need to multiply the average weight (7.5 pounds) by the number of babies born (4.1 × 10⁶).

7.5 pounds/baby * 4.1 × 10⁶ babies = 30.75 × 10⁶ pounds

To express this in scientific notation, we need to move the decimal point to the right so that there is only one digit to the left of the decimal point:

30.75 × 10⁶ pounds = 3.075 × 10⁷ pounds

Therefore, the approximate total weight of all the babies born in the U.S. in a year is 3.075 × 10⁷ pounds.