How many female great white sharks does it take to fill up all the pools in the U.S?

1.  Background Story:
How many female Great White Sharks does it take to fill up all the pools in the U.S?
I chose this question because when shark week is on Discovery Channel I can't help but to watch it.  I am fascinated by sharks but also have an irrational fear about them. This thought popped into my head as I was watching the show. When we started thinking about fermi questions for the unit I thought, let's do the shark week one.


2.  Ask Yourself This:

1: What is the average size swimming pool, above and below ground?
2: How many pools are in the United States of America?
3: What is the average size of Great Whites?(length, width, weight, body mass.)


3.  Helpful Hints:  
www.aquaticnet.com/media-statistics3.htm
www.jawshark.com

1: 30ft x 15ft x 6ft Average size of swimming pool.
2: There are about 8,349,000 swimming pools in the country.
3: L= 20 ft      W= 8 ft     H= 6 ft  = 960 ft^3 dimensions of a female Great White shark

I estimated that there were about 8,349,000 swimming pools in the U.S.  This number is just a rough estimate from an online resource, because that can't be spot on accurate
4,544,000+3,535,000+270,000= 8,349,000


4.  Construct a Formula:

The units are sharks/pools.  How many sharks fit in all the pools in America?

First I will find the number of pools in the U.S, inground including above ground pools, public and private pools. Then add them together. Then, find the dimensions of the average american pool. From that I will need to multiply the dimensions together to get the cubic feet of the pool.  Then, find the dimensions of an average female Great White shark. Multiply the dimensions together and you get the cubic feet of the average female shark. Finally, divide the cubic feet of the average pool by the cubic feet of the average female shark. That will then give me how many female great white sharkskin takes to fill up all the pools in America.


5.  Messy Math:
So, if two sharks fit in one pool, then it takes about 20,000,000 sharks to fill up all the pools in the U.S

Average area of a pool: 2,700 ft^3

30ft x 15ft x 6ft Average size of swimming pool

4,544,000+3,535,000+270,000 = 8.349*10^6 swimming pools in the U.S.

L= 20 ft      W= 8 ft     H= 6 ft  = 960 ft^3 (dimensions of female shark)

2,700/960= 2.8125 sharks per pool

2.8 sharks * 8.349*10^6 swimming pools =    23,377,200 sharks
1 pool            The country                            all pools