Crash Course Chapter 11: How Much Is A Trillion?

During the Crash Course, you will often encounter numbers that are expressed in ‘trillions’. How much is a trillion? A trillion is a very, very big number.

First, a numerical review.

A thousand is a one with three zeros after it.

A million is a thousand times bigger than that, and it’s a one with six zeros after it.

A billion, then, is a thousand times bigger than a million, and it’s a one followed by 9 zeros.

And a trillion is a thousand times bigger than that, and it’s a one followed by 12 zeros.

So a trillion is a thousand billion, which means it is a million millions.

Make no mistake, a trillion is a very, very big number and we should not be lulled into complacency simply because it is too big to really get our minds around. That should drive us to action instead.

Keep this lesson in mind as we discuss the total accumulated debts and liabilities of the US, which total many tens of trillions of dollars.