A library has an aquarium in the shape of a rectangular prism. The base is 6 ft by 2.5 ft. The height is 4 ft. How many square feet of glass was used to build the aquarium?
HINT: The top of the aquarium is open. You will use S=Ph+B because the top is open.
A library has an aquarium in the shape of a rectangular prism. The base is 6 ft by 2.5 ft. The height is 4 ft. How many square feet of glass was used to build the aquarium?
HINT: The top of the aquarium is open. You will use S=Ph+B because the top is open.
The total surface area of the aquarium can be found by calculating the area of the four sides and the bottom.
The area of the four sides can be calculated using the formula for the lateral surface area of a rectangular prism: 2h(l+w), where h is the height, l is the length, and w is the width.
2(4)(6+2.5) = 2(4)(8.5) = 2(34) = 68 sq ft
The area of the bottom can be calculated by multiplying the length and width of the base:
6 ft * 2.5 ft = 15 sq ft
Therefore, the total surface area of the aquarium is:
68 sq ft + 15 sq ft = 83 sq ft
So, 83 square feet of glass was used to build the aquarium.