An open-topped glass aquarium with a square base is designed to hold 4 cubic feet of water. What is the minimum exterior surface area of the aquarium?square feet
Q. An open-topped glass aquarium with a square base is designed to hold 4 cubic feet of water. What is the minimum exterior surface area of the aquarium?square feet
Define Volume Formula: Let s be the side length of the square base of the aquarium.The volume of the aquarium is the cube of the side length since it's a square base.V=s3
Substitute Volume Value: Volume of aquarium: 4 cubic feetSubstitute 4 for V in V=s3.4=s3
Find Side Length: Find the side length s. 4=s3s=cube root of 4s≈1.5874 feet (rounded to 4 decimal places)
Calculate Surface Area Formula: Calculate the exterior surface area of the aquarium.The surface area of a square-based open-topped box is the area of the base plus the area of the four sides.Surface Area = s2+4(s×h)But since the height h is the same as the side length s (because the volume is a cube of the side length), we can simplify this to:Surface Area = s2+4(s×s)Surface Area = s2+4s2Surface Area = 5s2
Substitute Side Length: Substitute the side length s into the surface area formula.Surface Area =5×(1.5874)2Surface Area ≈5×2.5197Surface Area ≈12.5985 square feet
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