The surface area of a sphere can be approximated as follows:

surface area = 4πr2;
where r is the radius of the sphere;
π is a constant that is roughly equal to 3.

calculate the surface area of a sphere with a radius of 7 meters using the simple approximation above.

There are numerous information's already given in the question. Based on the information's provided, the answer can be easily deduced.
Radius of the sphere = 7 meters
Value of pi = 3]
Then
Surface area of the sphere in question = 4πr^2
                                                              = 4 * 3 * (7)^2
                                                              = 12 * 49
                                                              = 588 square meters.
From the above deduction, we can conclude that the surface area of the sphere in question is 588 square meters.