Question

consider the human impacts
collaboration
many projections state that 0.5 m of sea level rise by 2100 is very likely, with higher levels possible.
this would completely cover 24,000 km² of land in the united states.
there are about 461 people per square mile in us coastal areas (excluding alaska).
1 mi = 1.61 km
about how many people would be completely flooded out by this amount of sea level rise?

Explanation:

Step1: Convert square - kilometers to square - miles

First, use the conversion factor $1\ mi = 1.61\ km$. So, $1\ mi^{2}=(1.61)^{2}\ km^{2}=2.5921\ km^{2}$. Let the area in square - miles be $A$. Given the area in square - kilometers $a = 24000\ km^{2}$. Then $A=\frac{a}{2.5921}=\frac{24000}{2.5921}\approx9259.67\ mi^{2}$.

Step2: Calculate the number of people

We know that there are about 461 people per square mile in US coastal areas. Let the number of people be $N$. Then $N = 461\times A$. Substitute $A\approx9259.67$ into the formula: $N=461\times9259.67\approx461\times9260 = 4278860$.

Answer:

About 4278860 people.