Projects > EMERGE Fellowship
How many seconds are in one millennium?
| Number of seconds in a minute | |
| Number of minutes in a hour | |
| Number of hours in a day | |
| Number of days in a year | |
| Number of years in a millenium | |
| Number of seconds in a millenium | |
What is the speed of light in millimeters per century?
| Speed of light (meters / second) | Defined standard | |
| Number of millimeters in a meter | ||
| Number of seconds in a minute | ||
| Number of minutes in a hour | ||
| Number of hours in a day | ||
| Number of days in a year | ||
| Number of years in a century | ||
| Speed of light (mm / century) | ||
How many meals will the average person eat in a lifetime?
| Average human lifespan | UN estimate for 2005-2010 (top of page 15) | |
| Number of meals eaten per day | ||
| Number of days in a year | ||
| Average number of meals per lifetime | ||
How many movie tickets will Americans buy this year?
| North American Box Office in 2013 (in US$) | MPAA estimate for 2013 | |
| Average ticket price in North America (in US$) | MPAA estimate for 2013 | |
| Latin American Box Office in 2010 (in US$) | MPAA estimate for 2013 | |
| Average ticket price in Latin America (in US$) | Based on sampling | |
| Average % change | MPAA estimate, on page 4 | |
| Number of movie tickets Americans bought per year | ||
A National League baseball team has 25 players. Nine players can be in a starting lineup. How many starting lineups can one team field?
| Number of players in team | ||
| Number of players in starting lineup | ||
| Number of distinct starting lineups possible | ||
What is the probability of a PGA golfer getting a hole in one on a par 3?
According to http://www.holeinoneinsurance.com/hole-in-one-odds.html, there is a 2,500 to 1 chance for a professional golfer to get a hole-in-one.
What fraction of the United States is paved?
| Length of paved roadways (in km) | CIA estimate | |
| Average width of paved roadways (in ft) | US DoT estimate - 2x9' lanes + 2x4' shoulders | |
| Surface area of United States (in km2) | ||
| Fraction of US that is paved | ||
Suppose you were to type the contents of every literary work held in the Library of Congress in nanometer-sized font. How many 8.5x11 inch pages would you require?
| Number of literary works | LoC estimate - 23,592,066 cataloged books + 12,344,477 other printed material | |
| Average number of pages per literary work | Estimated number from sampling representative works | |
| Average number of characters per page | Estimated number from sampling representative works | |
| Font width (in nm) | ||
| Font height (in nm) | ||
| Number of Letter-sized pages required | ||
A supertanker crashes in the Gulf of Mexico. How many square kilometers of oil could be spilled?
| Type of supertankers | ||
| Deadweight tonnage | ||
| Density of oil (kg/m3) | Light = <850; Heavy = >1000 | |
| Film thickness (nm) | ||
| Oil spill area (in km2) | ||
How many seconds would it take to transmit the Bible in Morse code over a telephone line?
| Bit rate (bps) | Shannon-Hartley, B=3000, S/N=1000 | |
| Seconds to transmit Old Testament through Morse code over telephone | ||