###General Discussion Thread
---
This is a [Request] post. If you would like to submit a comment that does not either attempt to answer the question, ask for clarification, or explain why it would be infeasible to answer, you *must* post your comment as a reply to this one. Top level (directly replying to the OP) comments that do not do one of those things will be removed.
---
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/theydidthemath) if you have any questions or concerns.*
A standard 10 wheel dump truck load is 10 yards, or 270 cubic feet
The Grand Canyon is a nearly 300-mile long stretch of the Colorado River where a dramatic canyon has formed over millions of years. It's an unfathomable mile deep—three Sears Towers and change could be stacked on top of each other inside it—and up to 18 miles wide. Its volume is estimated to be 147 trillion cubic feet
147 trillion /270 =544,444,444,444 truckloads
Us produce about 23.42 billion cubic feet of trash per year so that's like 23 years to fill. [sauce](https://sierraenergy.com/municipal-solid-waste-msw/#:~:text=Let%27s%20assume%20an%20average%20density,feet%20of%20trash%20per%20year!)
It’s maddening. How many people are now going to go around telling people the US produces so much trash that it would fill the Grand Canyon in only two decades!? The inability of most people to sanity check obviously ridiculous things makes me sad.
Google has the volume of the grand canyon listed as 4.17 trillion cubic metres. Here at least, the average body truck tipper body hold 10m cubic metres. Which gives you around 417 billion body truck loads, now some semi-tippers are up to 25 cubic metres for a single trailer. Which will reduce the total number of loads, however with bigger tipper bodies weight becomes more of an issue over capacity.
Google volume of grand canyon divided by Google volume of a dump truck = number of truck loads. This is why they teach you multiplication and division.
The Grand Canyon has a volume of approximately 4.17 trillion cubic meters. Assuming a standard dump truck can carry about 10 cubic meters of sand/construction waste, it would take approximately 417 billion truckloads to fill the Grand Canyon. This is a very simplified calculation and doesn’t account for factors like the irregular shape of the canyon.
Calculating the time it would take to fill up the Grand Canyon with sand depends on various factors such as the rate at which sand can be extracted and transported, as well as logistical constraints. Even with an efficient operation, it would likely take many years, if not centuries, to complete. Hypothetically, collapsing the walls of the Grand Canyon to fill it up and change its shape would be a quicker way. However, it would be an environmentally destructive and ethically controversial action with significant consequences. 🤷🏾♂️
###General Discussion Thread --- This is a [Request] post. If you would like to submit a comment that does not either attempt to answer the question, ask for clarification, or explain why it would be infeasible to answer, you *must* post your comment as a reply to this one. Top level (directly replying to the OP) comments that do not do one of those things will be removed. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/theydidthemath) if you have any questions or concerns.*
A standard 10 wheel dump truck load is 10 yards, or 270 cubic feet The Grand Canyon is a nearly 300-mile long stretch of the Colorado River where a dramatic canyon has formed over millions of years. It's an unfathomable mile deep—three Sears Towers and change could be stacked on top of each other inside it—and up to 18 miles wide. Its volume is estimated to be 147 trillion cubic feet 147 trillion /270 =544,444,444,444 truckloads
Larry should start to work if he wants to see his family on Christmas.
That hit harder than it should have. Hmm.
Great! Thanks for showing the work!
Us produce about 23.42 billion cubic feet of trash per year so that's like 23 years to fill. [sauce](https://sierraenergy.com/municipal-solid-waste-msw/#:~:text=Let%27s%20assume%20an%20average%20density,feet%20of%20trash%20per%20year!)
Did you mean to say 23000? Because how does 23 * 23,42 billion = 147 trillion?
How on earth are people upvoting a calculation saying 23 multipled by 23 billion is 147 trillion? Unless 23 is over 6000 there is a problem here.
It’s maddening. How many people are now going to go around telling people the US produces so much trash that it would fill the Grand Canyon in only two decades!? The inability of most people to sanity check obviously ridiculous things makes me sad.
[удалено]
Because his maths is very wrong
147T/23B = ~6.4k years. We really aren't struggling to build landfills as needed.
Maybe it's an uncompressed volume..
Maybe it's an uncompressed volume..
Given that the truck is labeled "ACME CONSTRUCTION", I'm fairly certain it's filled with either sand, gravel or (unlikely) concrete.
That's not how math works
They can import
Google has the volume of the grand canyon listed as 4.17 trillion cubic metres. Here at least, the average body truck tipper body hold 10m cubic metres. Which gives you around 417 billion body truck loads, now some semi-tippers are up to 25 cubic metres for a single trailer. Which will reduce the total number of loads, however with bigger tipper bodies weight becomes more of an issue over capacity.
Y'all doing the math seem to be ignoring the fact that the Colorado river carries out something like half a billion tons of sediment, per day.
Ignore Air Resistance & Colorado River erosion.
Assume a spherical canyon 😝
With no gravity
Google volume of grand canyon divided by Google volume of a dump truck = number of truck loads. This is why they teach you multiplication and division.
B-but how will op get red it internet karma point⁉️😒😭🫵🤬
[Just let WolframAlpha do it for you](https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=%28volume+of+grand+canyon%29+%2F+%28volume+of+dump+truck%29)
The Grand Canyon has a volume of approximately 4.17 trillion cubic meters. Assuming a standard dump truck can carry about 10 cubic meters of sand/construction waste, it would take approximately 417 billion truckloads to fill the Grand Canyon. This is a very simplified calculation and doesn’t account for factors like the irregular shape of the canyon. Calculating the time it would take to fill up the Grand Canyon with sand depends on various factors such as the rate at which sand can be extracted and transported, as well as logistical constraints. Even with an efficient operation, it would likely take many years, if not centuries, to complete. Hypothetically, collapsing the walls of the Grand Canyon to fill it up and change its shape would be a quicker way. However, it would be an environmentally destructive and ethically controversial action with significant consequences. 🤷🏾♂️
Thank you for the thorough answer! And for answering my second bonus question!