Question

open-ended total consumption of fruit juice in a particular country in 2006 was about 1.77 billion gallons. the population of that country in 2006 was 500 million. what was the average number of gallons of fruit juice consumed per person in the country in 2006? use pencil and paper. using the per person amount from this problem, about how many gallons would your class consume? the average fruit juice consumption was \boxed{} gallons per person. (round to one decimal place as needed.)

Explanation:

Step1: Convert units to be consistent

Total consumption is 1.77 billion gallons, which is \(1.77\times10^{9}\) gallons. Population is 500 million, which is \(5\times10^{8}\) people.

Step2: Calculate average consumption per person

Average consumption per person = Total consumption / Population. So we have \(\frac{1.77\times 10^{9}}{5\times 10^{8}}\).
Simplify the expression: \(\frac{1.77\times 10^{9}}{5\times 10^{8}}=\frac{1.77\times10}{5}=\frac{17.7}{5} = 3.54\), and rounding to one decimal place gives 3.5 (wait, no, 3.54 rounded to one decimal is 3.5? Wait, no, 3.54: the first decimal is 5, the next digit is 4, which is less than 5? Wait, no, 1.77 billion is 1770000000, 500 million is 500000000. So 1770000000 / 500000000 = 177 / 50 = 3.54. Rounding to one decimal place: look at the second decimal digit, which is 4, so we round down? Wait, no, 3.54: the first decimal is 5, the number after is 4, so 3.5 when rounded to one decimal? Wait, no, 3.54 is closer to 3.5 or 3.6? 3.54 - 3.5 = 0.04, 3.6 - 3.54 = 0.06, so closer to 3.5? Wait, but maybe I made a mistake in calculation. Wait 1.77 billion divided by 500 million: 1.77 / 0.5 = 3.54. Yes. So rounding to one decimal place, 3.5? Wait, no, 3.54: the tenths place is 5, hundredths is 4. So when rounding to one decimal, we look at the hundredths digit. Since 4 < 5, we keep the tenths digit as is. So 3.5? Wait, but 3.54 is 3.5 when rounded to one decimal? Wait, no, 3.54 rounded to one decimal is 3.5? Wait, no, 3.54: the first decimal is 5, the second is 4. So the rule is: if the digit after the desired decimal place is less than 5, we round down. So 3.54 rounded to one decimal is 3.5. Wait, but maybe I miscalculated. Wait 1.77 billion gallons is 1,770,000,000 gallons. Population is 500,000,000 people. So 1,770,000,000 / 500,000,000 = 177 / 50 = 3.54. So yes, 3.54, rounded to one decimal is 3.5? Wait, no, 3.54: the tenths place is 5, the hundredths is 4. So 3.5 when rounded to one decimal. Wait, but maybe the problem expects 3.5 or 3.5? Wait, let's check the division again. 1.77 billion is 1.77 10^9, 500 million is 5 10^8. So (1.77 10^9) / (5 10^8) = (1.77 / 5) (10^9 / 10^8) = 0.354 10 = 3.54. So yes, 3.54, rounded to one decimal is 3.5? Wait, no, 3.54: the first decimal is 5, the second is 4. So 3.5 when rounded to one decimal. Wait, but maybe I made a mistake. Wait, 3.54 rounded to one decimal: the digit in the hundredths place is 4, which is less than 5, so we round down, so 3.5. So the average is 3.5 gallons per person? Wait, no, 3.54 is 3.5 when rounded to one decimal? Wait, no, 3.54: 3.5 (tenths place) and 4 (hundredths). So yes, 3.5.

Answer:

3.5