Arithmetic Grade Six

Lesson One Hundred Seventy-five: Volume and Weight


The contents of a box or cylinder not only takes up space, but it also has weight. Consider this word problem: 


	  Sylvester filled a box with sand and he
	wants to know how much all the sand in the
	box weighs. He takes one cubic foot of the sand
	and finds that it weighs 2.5 pounds. He measures
	the box and finds that it is 3 feet high, 3 feet
	wide, and 5 feet long. How much does all the 
	sand in the box weigh?
To answer this problem we must first find the volume of the box: 

	V = 3 * 3 * 5 = 45 cubic feet
Next we take the volume and multiply it by the weight of one cubic foot of sand: 

	Weight = 45 cubic feet * 2.5 pounds per cubic foot = 112.5 pounds
Here's another example: 

	Weight of Filling: 3 pounds per cubic foot
	Height of Box:   7 feet
	Width of Box:    8 feet
	Length of Box:  20 feet

	VOLUME of BOX: 7 * 8 * 20 = 1120 cubic feet
	TOTAL WEIGHT OF FILLING: 1120 cubic feet * 3 pounds per cubic foot = 3360 pounds

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