In 2015, the U.S. national debt was about $18 trillion.(a) If payments were made at the rate of $1 000 per second,how many years would it take to pay off the debt, assumingthat no interest were charged? (b) A dollar bill is about 15.5cm long. If 18 trillion dollar bills were laid end to end aroundthe Earth’s equator, how many times would they encirclethe planet? Take the radius of the Earth at the equator to be6 378 km. (Note: Before doing any of these calculations, try toguess at the answers. You may be very surprised.)

University Physics Volume 1
18th Edition
ISBN:9781938168277
Author:William Moebs, Samuel J. Ling, Jeff Sanny
Publisher:William Moebs, Samuel J. Ling, Jeff Sanny
Chapter1: Units And Measurement
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 33P: In SI units, speeds are measured in meters per second (m/s). But, depending on where you live,...
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In 2015, the U.S. national debt was about $18 trillion.
(a) If payments were made at the rate of $1 000 per second,
how many years would it take to pay off the debt, assuming
that no interest were charged? (b) A dollar bill is about 15.5
cm long. If 18 trillion dollar bills were laid end to end around
the Earth’s equator, how many times would they encircle
the planet? Take the radius of the Earth at the equator to be
6 378 km. (Note: Before doing any of these calculations, try to
guess at the answers. You may be very surprised.)

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