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Monday, February 16, 2015

RIght Circular Cylinder Problems, 22

Category: Solid Geometry

"Published in Vacaville, California, USA"

A cylindrical tank, diameter 1 ft., length 6 ft., is placed so that its axis is horizontal. How many pounds of water will be used in filling it to a depth of 9 in., if water weighs 62.4 lb. per cu. ft.?

Solution:

To illustrate the problem, it is better to draw the figure as follows

Photo by Math Principles in Everyday Life

If a right circular cylinder whose axis is placed in a horizontal position, then its base is a circular segment. We need to get the area of its base first so that we can solve for the volume of water in a right circular cylinder. Let's analyze the cross section which is the base of a cylinder that is partially filled with water as follows

Photo by Math Principles in Everyday Life

By Pythagorean Theorem, the length of AD or DB is







Since ∆AOD or ∆BOD is a right triangle, then by using trigonometric function, the value of AOD or BOC is




The area of circular segment ABC is













The area of the base of a cylinder filled with water is






                          or



Hence, the volume of water in a right circular cylinder is




Therefore, the weight of water in a right circular cylinder is