Question

The U.S. public debt as of October 2010 was $9.06 × 1012. What was the average U.S. public debt per American if the population in 2010 was 3.08 × 108 people? Round the multiplier to the nearest hundredth.

Answer 1

Answer-

The average U.S. public debt per American is approximately $29,400

Solution-

Given in the question,

U.S public debt as of October 2010 = $9.06×10¹²

Population of U.S in 2010 = 3.08×10⁸

We have to calculate the average U.S. public debt per American,

$\text{Average debt per American}=\frac{\text{Total debt}}{\text{Population}}\\\\=\frac{9.06\times 10^{12}}{3.08\times 10^8}\\\\=2.9415\times 10^{(12-8)}\\\\=2.9415\times 10^4 \approx 2.94\times 10^4=29,400$

Therefore, the average U.S. public debt per American is $29,400 (after rounding off)