The U.S. national debt was $2.9617\times 10^(13) in 2021 and $3.98\times 10^(11) in 1971 . Find how much the debt increased in the 50-year period.
To find the increase in the national debt over the 50-year period, we need to subtract the debt in 1971 from the debt in 2021.
The debt in 2021 is $2.9617 \times 10^{13}$.
The debt in 1971 is $3.98 \times 10^{11}$.
To subtract these two values, we can subtract the coefficients and keep the same exponent:
$(2.9617 \times 10^{13}) - (3.98 \times 10^{11})$
$= 2.9617 \times 10^{13} - 0.0398 \times 10^{13}$ (Note that we can rewrite $3.98 \times 10^{11}$ as $0.0398 \times 10^{13}$)
$= 2.9617 \times 10^{13} - 0.0398 \times 10^{13}$
$= (2.9617 - 0.0398) \times 10^{13}$
$= 2.9219 \times 10^{13}$
Therefore, the debt increased by $2.9219 \times 10^{13}$ over the 50-year period.
To find the increase in the U.S. national debt over the 50-year period, we need to subtract the debt in 1971 from the debt in 2021.
Debt increase = Debt in 2021 - Debt in 1971
Debt increase = $2.9617 \times 10^{13} - $3.98 \times 10^{11}
However, since the numbers are in scientific notation, we must first match the exponents.
$2.9617 \times 10^{13} = $29.617 \times 10^{12} = $29.617 \times 10^{11} \times 10
Therefore,
Debt increase = $29.617 \times 10^{11} - $3.98 \times 10^{11}
Subtracting the two values, we get:
Debt increase = $25.637 \times 10^{11} or $2.5637 \times 10^{12}
So, the U.S. national debt increased by approximately $2.5637 \times 10^{12} from 1971 to 2021.
To find out how much the debt increased in the 50-year period, we need to calculate the difference between the national debt in 2021 and the national debt in 1971.
Given:
National debt in 2021 = $2.9617 × 10^13
National debt in 1971 = $3.98 × 10^11
To calculate the increase in debt, subtract the debt in 1971 from the debt in 2021:
Increase in debt = National debt in 2021 - National debt in 1971
Let's calculate it step by step:
1. Convert the debt values to their decimal forms:
National debt in 2021 = $29,617,000,000,000
National debt in 1971 = $398,000,000,000
2. Subtract the debt in 1971 from the debt in 2021:
Increase in debt = $29,617,000,000,000 - $398,000,000,000
3. Calculate the difference:
Increase in debt = $29,219,000,000,000
Therefore, the national debt increased by approximately $29,219,000,000,000 (29.219 trillion) over the 50-year period.