A large aquarium has a volume of 125 meters cubed. has glass on the bottom and 4 sides but no top. the edges are reinforced with angle iron. what is the area of glass required?

Answer 1

The aquarium, can be constructed of any quantity of glass 125 square meters or more.

In general, the area of the glass required is

(2 x length x height) + (2 x width x height) + (length x width).

The minimum is the case where the aquarium is cubical, Length = width = height = 5 meters . . .

(a large aquarium indeed! It would take 138 tons of water to fill it. But I digress.)

(2 x L x H) + (2 x W x H) + (L x W) = 50 + 50 + 25 = 125 square meters.

There are an infinite number of other sets of dimensions that also hold 125 cubic meters

of volume, but need more glass to build. A few examples are:

L - W - H . . . glass1 x 1 x 125 . . . . . 501 m2

1 x 1.25 x 100 .. . 451.25 m2

1 x 2.5 x 50 .. . . . 352.5 m2

1 x 5 x 25 . . . . . . 305 m2

1 x 10 x 12.5 . . . . 285 m2

2 x 1.25 x 50 . . . . 327.5 m2

2 x 2.5 x 25 . . . . . 230 m2

2 x 5 x 12.5 . . . . . 185 m2

2.5 x 2.5 x 20 . . . . 206.25 m2

4 x 2.5 x 12.5 . . . . 172.5 m2

4 x 5 x 6.25 .. . . . . 132.5 m2