Calculate the circular cross-section of the Deep Water Horizon pipe: ______________________ (note: your answer is in sq. in.) Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every second: ______________ cubic inches/second (hint: this involves multiplying a linear rate of inches per second with the cross section) Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every minute: ____________________ cu. in/minute Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every hour: _______________________ cu. in/hour Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every day: __________________________ cu in/day

Applications and Investigations in Earth Science (9th Edition)
9th Edition
ISBN:9780134746241
Author:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa
Publisher:Edward J. Tarbuck, Frederick K. Lutgens, Dennis G. Tasa
Chapter1: The Study Of Minerals
Section: Chapter Questions
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Your task is to estimate the quantity of oil that leaked from the Deep Water Horizon well between 20 April and 15 July 2011. I hope you will be surprised to discover that reasonable estimates from a small quantity of available data are possible and reveal much about this "Tragedy of the Commons."

To do this, you need a few important pieces of information:

  • The diameter of the Deep Water Horizon oil pipe is 21 inches.

  • The oil stream emanating from the pipe exits at about 21 inches per second.

  • 12 x 12 x 12 = 1728 cubic inches = 1 cubic foot.

  • To find the cross-section of the pipe, you need to know that the area of a circle is: A = πr^2

 

    1. Calculate the circular cross-section of the Deep Water Horizon pipe: ______________________ (note: your answer is in sq. in.)
    2. Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every second: ______________ cubic inches/second (hint: this involves multiplying a linear rate of inches per second with the cross section)
    3. Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every minute: ____________________ cu. in/minute
    4. Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every hour: _______________________ cu. in/hour
    5. Calculate the volume of oil exiting the pipe every day: __________________________ cu in/day
    6. Convert cu in/day to cubic feet per day: ______________________________________ cu ft/day
    7. Convert cu ft/day to barrels/day (5.61 cu ft/barrel of oil): _________________________ bbl/day (Note: bbl is the abbreviation for ‘barrels’)
    8. Multiply bbl/day x 86 days: _________________________________= total barrels of oil leaked.
    9. Calculate the gallons of oil leaked: ___________________________= total gallons of oil leaked (There are 42 U.S. gallons in a barrel of oil).
    10. Respond: Review chapter 6 of the linked report found in the Unit 5 Student Tasks Guide. Discuss at least three environmental impacts caused by this devastating oil spill.
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