"Published in Vacaville, California, USA"
The height of a hot-water boiler attached to a furnace is 5 ½ ft. The circumference of the boiler is 48 in. If the metal is ⅛ in. thick, how many gallons will the boiler contain when full? (One gallon = 231 cubic inches)
Solution:
To illustrate the problem, it is better to draw the figure as follows
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| Photo by Math Principles in Everyday Life |
Since the radius of a boiler is not given in the problem but the circumference is given, then we can solve for the radius as follows
If the thickness of a boiler is given also in the problem, then we can solve for the inner radius as follows
as well as the inner height as follows
Hence, the volume of water in the boiler when full in cubic inches is
Therefore, the volume of water in the boiler when full in gallons is
