A company makes storage containers with sheet steel walls. The containers are shaped like rectangular prisms, as shown below. If the company has a total of 944m2 of sheet steel available, how many storage containers can be made?
7m
5m
2m
First, let's consider the surface area of one storage container. Since a rectangular prism has 6 sides, the surface area can be calculated as follows:
Surface Area = 2lw + 2lh + 2wh
Given that the length (l) is 7m, width (w) is 5m, and height (h) is 2m, we can plug these values into the formula:
Surface Area = 2(7*5) + 2(7*2) + 2(5*2)
Surface Area = 70 + 28 + 20
Surface Area = 118m2
Now, to calculate how many containers can be made using 944m2 of sheet steel:
Number of containers = Total sheet steel available / Surface area of one container
Number of containers = 944 / 118
Number of containers = 8
Therefore, the company can make 8 storage containers with the available sheet steel.