Homework: The Giant Soup Can

 

Question::given the size of the actual Campbell's Soup can (of normal size) and the height of the bike in the photo, what are the dimensions of the volunteer fire department's water tank? What is its volume? Does it hold enough water to put out an average house fire?

So let's look at the information we have

Given: 

- size of the actual Campbell soup can (7 x 7 x 10 cm)

- height of the bike in the photo (105 cm)

Note: I had to search up for the meaures in both given information. Measurements could be different depending on search results. 

Need to find:

- Dimension of the water tank 

- Volume of the water tank

- Whether the water tank hold enough water to put out an average house fire

we know that the volume of a cylinder is V= pi * r^2 * h 

To determine the length of the bike, we can use the proportion of the height 105 cm : 3.1 cm as a scale. Then the length of the bike be 5 cm : 169 cm. 

Similarily, the height of the water thank is 12.2 cm : 413 cm

Since the height of the actual can is 10 cm : 413 cm (height of the water tank), we can say that the water tank is 41.3 times greater in proportion. 

The radius of the can is 3.5cm, so we can find the radius of the water tank to be 144.55cm. 

Using the formula for volume of a cylinder, we have

v = pi * (144.55)^2 * (413) = 27100000 cm ^3

Now we need to find out whether the tank can hold enough water to put out an average house fire.

By doing some research online, I find that  1 gallon of water can put out 3 square feet of fire. 

27100000 cm ^3 = 7159 gallon of water 

7179 / 3 = 2386.3 square feet

The water tank can hold enough water to put out a house of 2386.3 square feet (Average 4 bedroom house). Therefore, it is sufficient to hold water to put fire in an average house. 

Extension: If the only the measurements of the soup can are given, can you still proceed with the original question?