Assume everyone in the United States consumes one soft drink in an aluminum can every two days. If there are 330 million Americans, estimate how many tons of aluminum need to be recycled each year if each can weighs 1/16 pound and one ton = 2000 pounds.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

There are 330 million Americans and each one consumes a can every two days, which means they consume 165 million cans in two days. In one year, there are 182.5 periods of two days. So, Americans consume approximately 30 billion cans each year. 
If we know that each can weighs 1/16 pounds, we can convert that to tons as follows: 
(1/16 lb) * (1 ton/2000 lb) = 0.00003125 tons per can 
So, the total amount of aluminum that needs to be recycled each year is: 
30 billion cans * 0.00003125 tons per can = 937,500 tons 
This is closest to choice B, 1.9 million tons.

Assume Everyone in the United States Consumes One Soft Drink