How many basketball shots are attempted each year in America?

(Thanks to Carol Downing of Virginia Beach for suggesting the question.)

What is the mass of all the buildings on Manhattan Island? By how much will the weight of these buildings compress the land underneath them?

(Thanks to Chuck Adler from St. Mary's College of Maryland for the question and answers.)

Look for the answers online at tpt.aapt.org. Question suggestions are always welcome! For more Fermi questions and answers, see the now available Guesstimation 2.0: Solving Today's Problems on the Back of a Napkin, by Lawrence Weinstein (Princeton University Press, 2012).

Supplementary Material

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