Amount of glass needed for an aquarium

17rkearns

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Sep 12, 2011
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So I have to find the amount of glass needed for an aquarium. The dimensions of the aquarium are 24x12x16, with the base being 24x12. I know that the amount of glass needed is 10ft2 because my teacher told us the answer when we were going over it in class and wanted us to figure out how to get that answer. I know that this has something to do with surface area, but i'm not sure what. Thanks!
P.s. The dimensions of the aquarium are all in inches
:eek:
 
Hello, 17rkearns!

Did you make a sketch?


So I have to find the amount of glass needed for an aquarium.
The dimensions of the aquarium are 24 x 12 x 16, with the base being 24 x 12.
I know that the amount of glass needed is 10 ft2 because my teacher told us the answer.
I know that this has something to do with surface area, but i'm not sure what.
P.S. The dimensions of the aquarium are all in inches.

I will assume that the aquarium has no top.
The measurements are converted to feet.
Code:
          *-----------*
         /|          /|
        / |         / |
       /  |        /  |
      *-----------*   *
      |           |  /
  4/3 |           | /1
      |           |/
      *-----------*
           2

\(\displaystyle \text{Front and Back: }\,2\times (\frac{4}{3}\times2) = \frac{16}{3}\text{ ft}^2\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Left and Right: }\,2\times (\frac{4}{3}\times 1) = \frac{8}{3}\text{ ft}^2\)

\(\displaystyle \text{Bottom: }\,2\times 1 = 2\text{ ft}^2\)


\(\displaystyle \text{Total glass: }\:\frac{16}{3} + \frac{8}{3} + 2 \:=\:10\text{ ft}^2\)
 
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