A blue whale can weigh up to 400,000 pounds. A standard school bus has a gross weight of 25,000 pounds. How many school buses are equivalent to the weight of a blue whale?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer:
To find how many school buses equal the weight of a blue whale, divide the whale’s weight by the weight of one school bus:400,000 pounds25,000 pounds per bus=16\frac{400{,}000\ \text{pounds}}{25{,}000\ \text{pounds per bus}} = 1625,000 pounds per bus400,000 pounds=16
Answer: 16 school buses
Explanation:
Understanding comparisons of large weights helps put extremely large values into context. In this case, comparing the weight of a blue whale to something familiar, like a school bus, makes it easier to grasp just how massive the whale is.
A blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever existed on Earth. These marine mammals can reach weights of up to 400,000 pounds. On the other hand, a typical standard school bus, when fully loaded with passengers and fuel, has a gross weight of about 25,000 pounds. This figure includes the weight of the bus itself along with its maximum passenger capacity.
To determine how many school buses would match the weight of a single blue whale, use division. The total weight of the whale is divided by the weight of one bus:400,000÷25,000=16400{,}000 \div 25{,}000 = 16400,000÷25,000=16
This result shows that the weight of one blue whale is equivalent to the combined weight of sixteen fully loaded school buses.
This type of problem involves ratio and proportion and helps in developing number sense with large units. By comparing units with the same measurement (pounds), the calculation remains straightforward. Such problems are useful in science and math classes to make abstract quantities more understandable. Estimation and comparison are important skills, especially when interpreting real-world data related to mass, weight, and capacity.
