1. What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills (A Visual Demonstration of Money)
What would 1 trillion dollars look like, laid out in front of you?
We’ll start with a $ bill.
Currently it’s the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation.
Pretty much, everyone has seen a $100 bill.
A packet of one hundred, $100 bill is less than ½” thick and contains $10, (or 100 X $ = $10,000.00
Concrete Experience (10 minutes) - What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills (A Visual Demonstration of Money):
1. The concrete experience serves as a trigger of past experience, knowledge, and it is also a focusing mechanism for the lesson that follows to support the teaching of new content. The collective intent is to force the student to connect to the lesson and is the precursor to intuitive thinking of experiential learning model.
2. This exercise is best implemented as given to the entire class and not in small groups; encourage the class to work together to provide input and participate in a discussion. This and the following slides contains example/illustration of “What a Trillion Dollars looks like (A Visual Demonstration of Money).
Instructor Note: Review slide deck with students.
Publish and Process (15 Minutes):
During this phase of the Army Learning Model the instructor will solicit responses of the students reaction to the concrete experience. The students will reflect on the experience and give feedback.
The critical portion of this part of the ELM process is to force the students to reflect. As the instructor you can achieve this by asking a series of thought influencing questions, for example:
-What about this exercise made you reflect on money and cost?
-What about this exercise surprise you?
-Who among the students use a Debit Card VS. Cash. (Do you think you would use less money, if you use strictly cash).
Having the students think critically is the ultimate goal of publish and process. Force the students to explain their answers; meaning, how and why did they derive at the solution to the questions.
As the instructor, you should be also looking for responses that will help the student transition from publish and process to generalize new information. During this process, remine the students of lesson objectives as they transition from publish and process into generalize new information.
It’s fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decent fun.

2. What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills
Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 Packets of $10,000).
You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.
Concrete Experience:

3. What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills
While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable.
It fits neatly on a standard wooden pallet.
This is $1 BILLION Dollars- Now we’re really getting somewhere.
Concrete Experience:
It would fit on (10) standard wooden pallets

4. What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills
Next we’ll look at ONE TRILLION dollars.
What is a trillion dollars?
It’s a million-million.
It’s a thousand billion.
It’s a one followed by (12) zero's ($1,000,000,000,000).
Are you ready, it’s pretty surprising.
Next slide – Our Visual of $1 Trillion dollars.
Almost There
Concrete Experience:

5. What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills
Man in Red Shirt
Notice that the pallets are double stacked.
Concrete Experience:
So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase “Trillion Dollars”, this is what it should look like in your mind.

6. What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills
Concrete Experience:

7. What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills
Concrete Experience:

8. What 1 Trillion Dollars Looks like in Dollar Bills
How Long Ago is a Trillion Seconds?
If you count backward, then:
1 million seconds = 12 days ago
1 billion seconds = 31 years ago
1 trillion seconds = 30,000 B.C.
How high is a trillion in $1000 bills? (None in circulation)
If you stack a trillion-worth of $1000 bills together, then:
1 million dollars = 4 inches high
1 billion dollars = 364 feet high
1 trillion dollars = 63 miles high (If tilted over, it would be $1000 bill stretching from Columbia SC to Augusta GA).
If a person’s salary is $40,000 per year it would take:
25 years to earn $1 Million
25 Thousand years to earn $1 Billion
25 Million years to earn $1 Trillion
Concrete Experience:
Instructor Note: Facilitate Questions from notes in the first slide:
The critical portion of this part of the ELM process is to force the students to reflect. As the instructor you can achieve this by asking a series of thought influencing questions, for example:
-What about this exercise made you reflect on money and cost?
-What about this exercise surprise you?
-Who among the students use a Debit Card VS. Cash. (Do you think you would use less money, if you use strictly cash). 8
Source of Information: DailyCognition.com