Question

In 2014, the population is of the United States was about 318,900,000 people. Choose the best approximation of the United States Population in 2014.

Answer 1

Complete Question

In 2014, the population is of the United States was about 318,900,000 people. Choose the best approximation of the United States Population in 2014.

• $3 * 10^{8}$ people

• $3 * 10^{9}$ people

Answer:

$3 * 10^{8}$ people

Step-by-step explanation:

Given

US Population in 2014: About 318,900,000

Required

Approximate

From the given options, it's seen that the population of US is to be approximated to one significant digit and the result should be presented in standard form

So, the first step is to write out the population

318,900,000

As a general rule,

Category 1: Digit 0-4 are approximated to 0

Category 2: Digit 5-9 are approximated to 1

Since, we are approximating to one significant digit, only the first digit is needed, others are to be approximated.

The first digit is 3, meaning that approximation starts from the next digit which is 1

Approximating 318,900,000 will give 300,000,000 because "1" falls in category 1 as illustrated above.

The final step is to convert 300,000,000 to standard form.

There are 8 0s after 3.

Hence, $300,000,000 = 3 * 10^{8}$

Conclusively, the approximation of 318,900,000 is $3 * 10^{8}$ people