This. Simple geometric formulas and mental estimation don’t count as “math” to me. Breaking out the calculator and stat/trig tables do.
Too difficult to answer, because of all the feet and pounds.
Even though I know the conversions of metric to unco units, it just loses all relatability when I’m having to convert with each step of the thinking process.
Actually, the article is great as it goes but is too shallow. 1.4B pounds of cheese is less than 5 pounds per US person. That’s probably about what’s on the shelves of US supermarkets, and nowhere near enough to cope with a nationwide disaster. It’s perhaps a few weeks’ supply.
Agreed…
[spoiler]In my head I considered that a gallon of water is about 8 pounds and a cubic foot of water is about 8 gallons, hence somewhere around 64 pounds per cubic foot.
Then looking at 10,000 feet, it was blatantly obvious it was too high just from zero count. Then I tried the easy-to-mentally-calculate 1000, figuring the r^3 bit would be 5^3 + six zeros: 125M.Throw in a rough and ready guess for the pi and 4/3, takes it to 500M or so–clearly too many cubic feet at 64lbs per, but not crazily high, so the best guess would be 330.
[/spoiler]
Oops…I converted to metric and used math (in my head). At least I got the correct answer for my troubles.
Parmageddon?
Band name!