Scientists think that the sea level in Miami Beach, FL is currently rising at about 1 cm per year. Miami Beach has an average elevation of 122 cm above sea level. If current trends continue, will Miami ever be completely covered by water?

Question

Scientists think that the sea level in Miami Beach, FL is currently rising at about 1 cm per year. Miami Beach has an average elevation of 122 cm above sea level.  If current trends continue, will Miami ever be completely covered by water?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

A steady rate problem uses linear extrapolation: divide the vertical distance to cover by the annual rise rate. Sea level rise acts like a constant-speed increase (given the problem’s assumption), so time = elevation / rate.

Relevant concepts: rate (cm per year), distance (cm), and time = distance ÷ rate. Assumptions include a constant 1 cm/year rise and that “completely covered” means sea level reaches or exceeds the average elevation.

Step-by-step calculation:
1. Average elevation of Miami Beach = 122 cm above current sea level.
2. Sea level rise rate = 1 cm per year.
3. Time to reach that elevation = 122 cm ÷ (1 cm/year) = 122 years.

Intermediate step shown: 122 ÷ 1 = 122 (units: years).

Because 122 years is greater than 100 years, the statement “Yes, but it would take more than 100 years” is correct under the given assumptions. If one requires the sea to slightly exceed the elevation to be “completely covered,” that would add a little more time, so the time to be fully submerged would be slightly greater than 122 years—still well over 100 years.

Why the correct answer is correct: the arithmetic directly yields 122 years, which is clearly more than 100 years; therefore the assertion that Miami would be submerged only after more than a century matches the computed result.

Why other possible answers would be incorrect:
- “No, it will never be covered” contradicts the positive rise rate and finite elevation—given enough time, the rise will reach that elevation.
- “Yes, within 100 years” is incorrect because 122 years > 100 years.
- “Yes, in exactly 122 years” is close but omits the caveat that full submergence might require slightly more than the average elevation; the provided choice emphasizing “more than 100 years” is the best match.

Final confirmation: The correct answer is “Yes, but it would take more than 100 years.”

Scientists think that the sea level in Miami Beach, FL is currently rising at about 1 cm per year. Miami Beach has an average elevation of 122 cm above sea level. If current trends continue, will Miami ever be completely covered by water?单项选择题

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