Question

Simpson has a rectangular fish aquarium that measures 31 inches long, 13 inches wide and is 28 inches deep. What is the maximum amount of water the aquarium can hold?

Answer 1

`V = 11,284 "in"^3`

Explanation:

What we are trying to find is the volume of the fish tank. The volume of 3D shape tells us how much substance it can hold in itself.

The formula for finding the volume of a rectangular prism is relatively simply:
`V = lwh`

`l = "length"`
`w= "width"`
`h = "height"`

The question already gave us the height, width, and length, so all we have to do is put them into the equation. We know that:
`l = 31`
`w = 13`
`h = 28`

So let's substitute them into the volume formula:
`V = lwh`
`V = (31)(13)(28)`
*Note: when numbers are next to each other with no mathematical sign ( `+ or -`), like the ones above, it means that we multiply them. That's important to remember. We can change it to be:

`V = 31 xx 13 xx 28` to make it easier to understand. Now multiply the two leftmost numbers:

`V = color(blue)31 xx color(blue)13 xx 28`
`V = color(blue)403 xx 28`

Last step! Multiply the last two numbers:
`V = 403 xx 28`
`V = 11,284 "in"^3`

Because our shape has `"height, width, and length"`, it is a `"3D shape"`, and so our measurements will be cubic inches or: `"in"^3`