Team Name ________________

Fermi Quiz
Aim: To estimate the values of various quantities.

Materials: None - except an imaginative, innovative mind. Use of electronic devices is
seriously frowned upon for this event.

Method: Except for question 15, provide the power of 10 that best answers the question by
combing quantities you already know. Question #15 will be a tiebreaker for all
events and will not be scored unless there is a tie.

Conditions: The answers must be entered using the units specified. WRITE CLEARLY!

Ranking: Each questions score will be the difference between the correct answer and your
answer. A penalty applies for leaving answers blank, so take your best guess if you
cant calculate an answer or dont have time.

1) Pow many cellos are Lhere ln Lurope?
"#$%&'( )* +&,,-$
2) Pow long ln mlnuLes does lL Lake Lo drlve from ulaan 8aLor, Mongolla Lo AnLalya, 1urkey. Assume
one person ln Lhe car?
"#$%&'( )* ./#01&$
3) lf you llne up a bunch of carbon aLoms, how many would you need Lo reach Alpha CenLaurl, whlch
ls abouL 4.3 llghL years dlsLanL from Lhe earLh?
"#$%&'( )* 21-.$
4) lf you add up all Lhe mlles drlven ln passenger cars ln Lhe uS how long ln days would lL Lake for Lhose
mlles Lo add up Lo Lhe dlsLance Lo Lhe sun?
"#$%&'( )* 324$
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3) How many electrons are there in Mt. Everest?
"#$%&'( )* &,&+1'-#$
6) lf every person ln a group of people aL a company shakes hands ln Lhe mornlng wlLh every oLher one
(as ls cusLomary ln lrance on a smaller scale) how many people would you need Lo have 3000
handshakes?
"#$%&'( )* 5&-5,&
7) Pow many dollars does uerek !eLer earn (ln a normal season) for every Llme he swlngs a baL ln a
Ma[or League 8allgame?
"#$%&'( )* 3-,,2'$
8) What is the likelihood that the earth will be struck by a meteor the size of Connecticut in the next
100 years?
"#$%&'( )*
9) If a neutron star is 10 km in radius, what is its volume in units of baseballs?
"#$%&'( )* 62$&62,,$
10) lf you plled up pennles LoLallng $100 bllllon, how hlgh would Lhe sLack be ln asLronomlcal unlLs
(1 a.u. ls Lhe dlsLance from Lhe earLh Lo Lhe sun)?
"#$%&'( )* 2707
11) A proLon ln an aLomlc nucleus orblLs Lhe cenLer of Lhe nucleus aL a speed of abouL 10 Lhe speed of
llghL. Pow long ln seconds does lL Lake Lo compleLe one orblL?
"#$%&'( )* $&+-#3$

12) Pow many mlce ln mlce-slzed Lreadmllls would lL Lake, on average, Lo power new ?ork ClLy?
"#$%&'( )* ./+&
13) WhaL fracLlon of Lhe volume of Lhe solar sysLem (ouL Lo luLo) ls occupled wlLh planeLs, moons, and
asLerolds (89:;<=8 >?8 @<AB@ CD;<E8)?
"#$%&'( )*
14) WhaL ls Lhe welghL of Lhe earLh ln solar masses (sm)?
"#$%&'( )* $.
13) >F8GH8"I8H( Pow many square mlles would you need Lo cover wlLh solar cells Lo provlde all Lhe
elecLrlcal power for Lhe sLaLe of ConnecLlcuL? (A solar cell produces abouL 13 waLLs/square fooL).
LnLer Lhe number of square mlles, noL a power of 10.
"#$%&'( J./,&$K
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