The table below presents the annual municipal water supply metrics and resident population… — GMAT

The table below presents the annual municipal water supply metrics and resident population for four administrative districts in 2025. Note that $1\text{ cubic meter } (\text{m}^3) = 1,000\text{ liters}$ .

District	Annual Water Supplied (in millions of $\text{m}^3$ )	Total Revenue (in tens of thousands of USD)	Resident Population (in thousands)
Metro North	21.9	876	200
Riverdale	8.76	438	120
Coastal Bay	14.6	730	160
Highland Peak	13.14	525.6	150

Based on the data provided, what was the average daily water consumption per resident in Coastal Bay in 2025, expressed in liters per person per day? (Assume a 365-day year.)

Answer: 250 liters per person per day

Answer

The average daily water consumption per resident in Coastal Bay in 2025 was 250 liters per person per day.

To find the average daily water consumption per resident in Coastal Bay, first read the values for Coastal Bay from the table: Annual Water Supplied is

14.6\text{ million m}^3

and Resident Population is

160\text{ thousand}

. Convert water volume to liters:

14.6 \times 10^6 \times 1,000 = 14,600,000,000\text{ liters}

. Convert population to individual count:

160 \times 1,000 = 160,000\text{ residents}

. Calculate total annual resident-days:

160,000 \times 365 = 58,400,000\text{ resident-days}

. Finally, divide total liters by total resident-days:

\frac{14,600,000,000}{58,400,000} = 250\text{ liters per person per day}

Step-by-Step Solution

Table Lookup and Scale Expansion for Water Supplied

Water supplied =

14.6 \times 10^6 \text{ m}^3 = 14,600,000 \text{ m}^3

The table header specifies that values are given in millions of cubic meters.

Unit Conversion from Cubic Meters to Liters

Total liters =

14,600,000 \text{ m}^3 \times 1,000 \text{ L/m}^3 = 14,600,000,000 \text{ L}

Each cubic meter contains

1,000

liters as stated in the problem note.

Population Scale Expansion and Resident-Days Calculation

Total resident-days =

(160 \times 1,000 \text{ people}) \times 365 \text{ days} = 58,400,000 \text{ person-days}

The population header specifies values in thousands, and a full year comprises 365 days.

Calculate Per Capita Daily Rate

Daily per capita rate =

\frac{14,600,000,000 \text{ L}}{58,400,000 \text{ person-days}} = 250 \text{ L/person/day}

Dividing total annual volume by total person-days yields the average daily consumption per person.

Key Concept

Unit Conversion and Scale Interpretation in Table Analysis

Question

Answer

Step-by-Step Solution

Key Concept

Common Mistakes

Topics

More questions from this topic