In the year 2013, an estimated amount of 36 billion...

In the year $2013,$ an estimated amount of 36 billion metrictons ( 1 metric ton $=1000 \mathrm{kg}$ ) of carbon dioxide $\left(\mathrm{CO}_{2}\right)$ was emitted worldwide due to fossil fuel combustion and cement production. Express this mass of $\mathrm{CO}_{2}$ in grams without exponential notation, using an appropriate metric prefix.

Key Concepts

Metric Unit Conversion

This concept involves converting a quantity from one unit to another using well-defined conversion factors. In the metric system, conversions such as from metric tons to kilograms and subsequently to grams are carried out by multiplying by the appropriate power of ten, ensuring that the numerical value is correctly scaled across different units.

Metric Prefixes

Metric prefixes are used to express multiples or submultiples of units conveniently. They allow large or small numbers to be represented succinctly without resorting to explicit exponential notation. For example, using a prefix like 'peta-' (which stands for 10^15) can simplify the representation of very large quantities when converting between units such as grams and metric tons.

Scientific Notation and Its Alternatives

Scientific notation is a method for expressing numbers as a product of a coefficient and a power of ten, which is especially useful for very large or very small numbers. However, in many applications, especially in contexts where clarity is preferred, expressing these numbers using named metric prefixes avoids the direct use of exponents and can make the magnitude more immediately comprehensible.

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