A farmer has 1000 chickens.

• The farmer feeds the chickens on seeds from maize plants.
• 1 hectare of land produces 16.4 tonnes of maize seeds.
• The maize seeds have an energy content of 16 MJ per kg.
• Chickens can use 80% of the energy in maize seeds.
• Each chicken needs 46 MJ of energy to grow to full size.

Calculate the area of land needed to provide enough energy from maize seeds for 1000 chickens to grow to full size.
Give your answer in m².
Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
1 hectare = 10 000 m²
1 tonne = 1000 kg

This calculation requires breaking the problem down into sequential steps. **Step 1: Total energy required by the chickens.** Each of the 1000 chickens needs 46 MJ of usable energy. Total usable energy = 1000 chickens × 46 MJ/chicken = 46,000 MJ. **Step 2: Total energy that must be consumed from maize.** The chickens only use 80% of the energy from the maize they eat. So, the 46,000 MJ represents 80% of the total energy content of the maize consumed. Total energy from maize = 46,000 MJ / 0.80 = 57,500 MJ. **Step 3: Mass of maize required.** The energy content of maize is 16 MJ per kg. Mass of maize (kg) = Total energy from maize / Energy per kg Mass of maize (kg) = 57,500 MJ / 16 MJ/kg = 3593.75 kg. **Step 4: Convert mass of maize to tonnes.** 1 tonne = 1000 kg. Mass of maize (tonnes) = 3593.75 kg / 1000 kg/tonne = 3.59375 tonnes. **Step 5: Calculate land area in hectares.** 1 hectare of land produces 16.4 tonnes of maize. Area (hectares) = Total tonnes needed / Tonnes per hectare Area (hectares) = 3.59375 tonnes / 16.4 tonnes/hectare = 0.219131... hectares. **Step 6: Convert land area to m².** 1 hectare = 10,000 m². Area (m²) = 0.219131... hectares × 10,000 m²/hectare = 2191.31... m². **Step 7: Round to 3 significant figures.** The first three significant figures are 2, 1, and 9. The next digit is 1, so we round down. Final Answer = **2190 m²**.