How many gallons did the largest oil spill actually spill?

How many gallons did the largest oil spill actually spill?

• A. 180-220 million
• B. 380-520 million
• C. 100-200 million
• D. 700-800 million

Answer: (B)

The key idea is understanding how spill volume is measured and converted between barrels and gallons. When an oil spill’s size is given in barrels, you can convert to gallons using the fact that one barrel equals 42 gallons. If the largest spill is commonly cited as occurring with roughly 10–12 million barrels of oil released, that converts to about 420–504 million gallons (10 million × 42 = 420 million; 12 million × 42 = 504 million). This falls right in the 380–520 million gallons range, which is why that option best matches the typical estimates for the largest spill. Other ranges are farther from the commonly cited figure, either well below or well above the standard estimates, so they don’t align as closely with the recorded historical data.

The key idea is understanding how spill volume is measured and converted between barrels and gallons. When an oil spill’s size is given in barrels, you can convert to gallons using the fact that one barrel equals 42 gallons.

If the largest spill is commonly cited as occurring with roughly 10–12 million barrels of oil released, that converts to about 420–504 million gallons (10 million × 42 = 420 million; 12 million × 42 = 504 million). This falls right in the 380–520 million gallons range, which is why that option best matches the typical estimates for the largest spill.

Other ranges are farther from the commonly cited figure, either well below or well above the standard estimates, so they don’t align as closely with the recorded historical data.