Chapter 1, Problem 1.7P

Enrico Fermi (1901–1954) Problems (EFP). Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist who received the Nobel Prize for his work on nuclear processes. Fermi was famous for his “Back of the Envelope Order of Magnitude Calculation” to obtain an estimate of the answer through logic and then to make reasonable assumptions. He used a process to set bounds on the answer by saying it is probably larger than one number and smaller than another, and arrived at an answer that was within a factor of 10.

See http://mathforum.org/workshops/sum96/interdisc/sheila2.html.

Enrico Fermi Problem

1. (a) EFP #1. How many piano tuners are there in the city of Chicago? Show the steps in your reasoning.
   1. 1. Population of Chicago_____
   2. 2. Number of people per household_____
   3. 3. Etc._____

An answer is given on the CRE Web site under Summary Notes for Chapter 1.

1. (b) EFP #2. How many square meters of pizza were eaten by an undergraduate student body population of 20,000 during the Fall term 2016?
2. (c) EFP #3. How many bathtubs of water will the average person drink in a lifetime?