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If you like popcorn,
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which one
would you buy ?
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Figure This! Take two identical sheets of paper.
[An ordinary sheet of paper measures 8 1/2 inches by
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11 inches.] Roll one sheet into a short cylinder and the
other into a tall cylinder. Set them both on a flat
surface. Does one hold more than the other?
Hint: Place the taller cylinder inside the shorter one. Fill the taller
one with dry cereal, rice, or popcorn; then remove it from the shorter
cylinder. Which holds more?
Making visual estimates and finding volumes are useful skills.
Designers and engineers use these skills to find economical ways to
package and protect items.
The shorter cylinder holds more.
Answer:
Get Started: 4. Suppose you had two equal lengths of wire. Fold the wires to make two rec-
Make a guess and then use the hint. tangles. Do you think the two rectangles will always have the same area?
Complete Solution: Things to Think About:
The process described in the “Hint” shows that the shorter cylinder holds more. • What items come packaged in cylindrical containers?
• To determine an answer mathematically, find the volume of each cylin- • What types of goods are packaged in boxes instead of cylinders? Why
der. The volume is the area of the base times the height. In this case, do you think companies use boxes?
the bases are circular. The area of a circle is π • r • r or approximately • If a number is greater than 1, squaring it makes the result greater.
3.14 • r • r. To find the radius, r, use a ruler to estimate the width (or
Did You Know That?
diameter) of the circle. Divide the diameter by 2 to get the radius.
Another way to find the radius of a circle is to use the formula: • Designing cans and labels is just one aspect of packaging technology.
You see the results of this work every time you unwrap a CD, twist
Circumference of circle = 2 • π • radius = 2πr
open a lipstick container, or open a soft drink.
Radius = Circumference divided by (2π)
• Several universities offer degrees in packaging technology. Many of them
Once you have the radius, the table below shows how to determine the
can be found at [Link]/[Link]
volume of each cylinder. The sheet of paper is 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches.
• Isopermetric figures are figures with the same perimeter. Fencing prob-
Cylinder Base (inches) Radius Height Volume lems typically fall under this category.
Circumference (inches) (inches) (cubic inches)
r h π •r •r •h Resources:
Short 11 11 ÷ (2π) or 8.5 π • 1.75 • 1.75 • 8.5 Books:
about 1.75 About 81.8 • Lawrence Hall of Science. Equals Investigations: Flea-Sized Surgeons.
Alsip, IL: Creative Publications, 1994.
Tall 8 1/2= 8.5 8.5 ÷ (2π) or 11 π • 1.35 • 1.35 • 11
about 1.35 About 63.0 • Lappan, G., J. Fey, W. Fitzgerald, S. Friel, and E. Phillips. Connected
Mathematics: Filling and Wrapping. Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour
The volume of the shorter cylinder is about 82 cubic inches, and the volume Publications, 1996.
of the taller cylinder is about 63 cubic inches.
Answers to Additional Challenges:
Try This:
• Go to the grocery store and see what items come in different shaped that has an area of 7 square inches.
or different sized cylinders. with an area of 16 square inches, or a 1 inch by 7 inches rectangle
of wire 16 inches long. You can make a square 4 inches by 4 inches
• Look in your cupboard or go to the grocery. Find two different shaped
The rectangles may not always have the same area. Consider a piece
containers that hold the same amount. What are the contents of each?
(4.)
Additional Challenges:
1. For what size paper would the two cylinders hold the same amount? and π • 3 • 3 • 5.
turned about its shorter side. This problem compares π • 5 • 5 • 3
2. Using any non-square rectangular sheet of paper, does the shorter
The cylinder with the larger volume is described when the card is
cylinder always hold more?
(3.)
3. Another way to describe a cylinder is to rotate an index card about one
of its sides. Think about the cylinder traced by a 3 by 5 card as it turns. Yes. (This can be proven mathematically.)
Which is larger: the volume of the cylinder formed when the card is
(2.)
turned about a short side or a long side?
of paper.
The two cylinders would hold the same amount only for square sheets
(1.)
3 in.
5 in.