Question

Given below are two statements:

Statement (I): According to USDA estimates, the total amount of water on earth is about 1400 billion cubic kilometers.

Statement (II): This amount of water is enough to cover the earth with a layer of 300 meters (depth).

In light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below.

• A. Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are true.
• B. Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are false.
• C. Statement (I) is true but Statement (II) is false.
• D. Statement (I) is false but Statement (II) is true.

Hint:

Check the actual figure: earth's total water is close to 1.4 billion cubic km, and spreading it over the whole surface gives a depth in kilometers, not a few hundred meters.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Let's fact check both statements against the real, widely quoted figures for earth's total water.

1. Statement (I) [1400 billion cubic km]: The actual USDA style estimate of total water on earth is close to 1.4 billion cubic kilometers (equal to 1400 million cubic km), not 1400 billion. The statement's number is a thousand times too large, so Statement (I) is false.
2. Statement (II) [300 m covering depth]: Earth's surface area is about 510 million square kilometers. Dividing the correct water volume, 1.4 billion cubic km, by this surface area gives a covering depth of roughly 2.7 to 3 kilometers, that is, about 2700 to 3000 meters, not 300 meters. So Statement (II) is also false.

Since neither the total volume in Statement (I) nor the covering depth in Statement (II) matches the real figures, both statements turn out to be incorrect.

Let's summarize:

• Real total water on earth is about 1.4 billion cubic km (1400 million, not 1400 billion).
• Spreading that volume over earth's surface gives a depth of about 2700 to 3000 m, not 300 m.

So the correct option is that both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are false.