24. Financial Literacy In 2010 , the national debt of the United States was about 14 trillion dollars. In 2003 it was about \( 7 \times 10^{12} \) dollars. About how many times larger was the national debt in 2010 than in 2003 ?

To determine how many times larger the national debt was in 2010 than in 2003, you can divide the 2010 debt by the 2003 debt. So, \( \frac{14 \text{ trillion}}{7 \text{ trillion}} = 2 \). Therefore, the national debt in 2010 was about 2 times larger than in 2003. For an extra twist, think of it this way: if the national debt were a giant chocolate cake, in 2003 you had a pretty decent-sized slice worth 7 trillion calories, but by 2010, that slice grew to a massive 14 trillion calories! That's twice the cake, which means twice the financial planning skills needed to handle it! 🍰