Answer to Question #95554 in General Chemistry for Tamika

Question

Suppose you have Avogadro's number of mini marshmallows and use them to cover the state of Kansas which has a land area of 8.181×104 mi2. Each mini marshmallow has a diameter of 0.635 cm and a height of 2.54 cm. Assuming the marshmallows are packed together so there is no space between them, to what height above the surface, in kilometers, will the mini marshmallows extend?

Answer 1

Assuming the area of the base of the is squeezed to form a square and the height if unaffected ... (this is NOT a good assumption)

------ step one convert sq miles to sq cm ...

68,980 X 2.59x10^10 = 1.787 x 10^15 sq cm

area of 1 mini mallow = pi X 0.635^2 =1.267 cm^2

number of mini mallows in one layer

= 1.787 x 10^15 sq cm / 1.267 cm^2

= 1.41 x 10^15 mini mallows in one layer

=======================================

layers ...

6.022 x 10^23 / 1.41 x 10^15

= 4.271 x 10^8 layers

....................................................

height

= (4.271 x 10^8) X 2.54 cm / 100 / 1000

= 10,848 km << answer