The shortest distance from the East Coast to the West Coast in the USA is 2,092 miles. The whole length of the Colorado River is about what percent of the distance from the East to the West Coast? Round your answer to the nearest whole percent.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To calculate the percentage, we first need to know the length of the Colorado River, which is approximately 1,450 miles long. The question asks for the percentage of the Colorado River’s length relative to the shortest distance from the East Coast to the West Coast of the USA, which is 2,092 miles.
Step-by-step solution:
- Write the formula to find the percentage: Percentage=(Length of Colorado RiverDistance from East to West Coast)×100\text{Percentage} = \left( \frac{\text{Length of Colorado River}}{\text{Distance from East to West Coast}} \right) \times 100Percentage=(Distance from East to West CoastLength of Colorado River)×100
- Plug in the values: Percentage=(14502092)×100\text{Percentage} = \left( \frac{1450}{2092} \right) \times 100Percentage=(20921450)×100
- Divide the values: 14502092≈0.693\frac{1450}{2092} \approx 0.69320921450≈0.693
- Multiply by 100 to get the percentage: 0.693×100=69.30.693 \times 100 = 69.30.693×100=69.3
- Round to the nearest whole number: 69.3≈69%69.3 \approx 69\%69.3≈69%
Conclusion:
The length of the Colorado River is approximately 69% of the shortest distance from the East Coast to the West Coast in the USA.
This kind of problem is useful in comparing distances and understanding the scale of geographical features. The calculation is straightforward once you apply the percentage formula, and rounding to the nearest whole number gives you the final result.
