In the United States, water used for irrigation is measured in acre-feet. An acre-foot of water covers an acre to a depth of exactly 1 ft. An acre is 4840 yd2. An acre-foot is enough water to supply two typical households for 1.00 yr. (a) If desalinated water costs $1950 per acre-foot, how much does desalinated water cost per liter?

Verified step by step guidance

Convert the area of an acre from square yards to square feet using the conversion factor: 1 yard = 3 feet. Therefore, 1 acre = 4840 yd^2 * (3 ft/yd)^2.

Calculate the volume of water in cubic feet for 1 acre-foot by multiplying the area in square feet by the depth of 1 foot.

Convert the volume from cubic feet to cubic inches using the conversion factor: 1 cubic foot = 12^3 cubic inches.

Convert the volume from cubic inches to liters using the conversion factor: 1 liter = 61.024 cubic inches.

Calculate the cost per liter by dividing the cost per acre-foot ($1950) by the volume in liters.

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

This video solution was recommended by our tutors as helpful for the problem above.

Video duration:

Was this helpful?

Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Volume Conversion

To solve the problem, it's essential to understand how to convert acre-feet into liters. An acre-foot is a unit of volume that represents the amount of water needed to cover one acre to a depth of one foot. Knowing the conversion factors between these units is crucial for calculating the cost per liter.

Cost Calculation

The question requires calculating the cost of desalinated water per liter based on the total cost per acre-foot. This involves dividing the total cost by the total volume in liters, which allows for a clear understanding of the price per unit volume of water.

Desalination Economics

Understanding the economics of desalination is important, as it provides context for the cost of water. Desalination is a process that converts seawater into freshwater, and the cost of this process can vary significantly based on technology, energy use, and local conditions, influencing the price per acre-foot.

Related Practice

Textbook Question

The U.S. quarter has a mass of 5.67 g and is approximately 1.55 mm thick. (a) How many quarters would have to be stacked to reach 575 ft, the height of the Washington Monument?

1587

views

Textbook Question

The U.S. quarter has a mass of 5.67 g and is approximately 1.55 mm thick. (c) How much money would this stack contain?

903

views

Textbook Question

The U.S. quarter has a mass of 5.67 g and is approximately 1.55 mm thick.(d) The U.S. National Debt Clock showed the outstanding public debt to be $16,213,166,914,811 on October 28, 2012. How many stacks like the one described would be necessary to pay off this debt?

Open Question

By using estimation techniques, determine which of the following is the heaviest and which is the lightest: a 10-lb bag of fertilizer, a 10-kg bag of rice, or 2 gal of olive oil (density = 0.918 g/cm³).

Open Question

Suppose you decide to define your own temperature scale with units of O, using the freezing point 113 _x001F_C2 and boiling point 1360 _x001F_C2 of oleic acid, the main component of olive oil. If you set the freezing point of oleic acid as 0 _x001F_O and the boiling point as 100 _x001F_O, what is the freezing point of water on this new scale?

Open Question

Hexane 1density = 0.659 g/mL2 and acetic acid 1density = 1.0446 g/mL2 do not form a solution when mixed but separate into distinct layers. A piece of oak wood 1density = 900 kg/m32 is placed inside a test tube containing hexane and acetic acid; sketch how the three substances would position themselves.