Chapter 4.3, Problem 4.10YT

You Decide Marshmallows and Pennies

Avogadro’s number is so large that the only way to visualize it is through analogies. For example, one Avogadro’s number of regular-sized marshmallows, 6.02 × 10²³ of them, would cover the surface of the United States to a depth of 650 miles. Or, if you are more impressed by money than marshmallows, assume 6.02 × 10²³ pennies were distributed evenly among the approximately 7 billion inhabitants of Earth. Every man, woman, and child could spend $1 million every hour, day and night, and half of those pennies would still be left unspent by the time each person passes away. Can these fantastic claims be correct? Check one or both, showing your reasoning. Come up with an analogy of your own.