The Amazon River releases 5.5 * 10 ^ 7 gallons of water into the Atlantic Ocean every second. There are about 3.2 * 10 ^ 7 seconds in a year.
How many gallons are released into the ocean in one year? Express your answer with the appropriate number of significant digits.
To find out how many gallons are released into the ocean in one year, we need to multiply the number of gallons released per second by the number of seconds in a year.
Number of gallons released per second: 5.5 * 10^7 gallons/second
Number of seconds in a year: 3.2 * 10^7 seconds/year.
Multiplying these two numbers:
(5.5 * 10^7 gallons/second) * (3.2 * 10^7 seconds/year) = 1.76 * 10^15 gallons/year.
Therefore, the Amazon River releases approximately 1.76 * 10^15 gallons of water into the Atlantic Ocean every year.