how many cubic meters of seawater would have a million dollars worth of gold in it?

Question

1. According to estimates, 1.0L of seawater contains on the average 4.0x10-9 g of gold. If gold is worth $390 per troy ounce and a troy ounce weighs 31.103 g , how many cubic meters of seawater would have a million dollars worth of gold in it?

Answer 1

For this question it all have to do with conversion and units. As I always tell me students, UNITS can kill you or it can save you. LET it save you. Ok so this is how you would set up the problem with dimensional analysis. 

 

1,000,000 dollar x 1 troy once of gold x 31.103 g of gold     x 1.0 L seawater      =

                            390.00 dollar          1 troy once of gold     (4x10^-9 ) g of gold      

 

Whatever you get for L just times it by 1000 and you will get cm³

 

Cnce you plug this into your calculator you find your answer. Make sure to notice how the units are always one on top of each other and would cancel out similar to A x B

                               A