Puzzler

FIND THE VOLUME OF THE GRAIN SILO


Question


A grain silo is built from two right circular cones and a right circular cylinder with internal measurements represented by the figure above. Using the formulas below, which of the following is closest to the volume of the grain silo, in cubic feet?

  1. 261.8
  2. 785.4
  3. 916.3
  4. 1047.2

Solution

The answer is 4

The volume of the grain silo can be found by adding the volumes of all the solids of which it is composed (a cylinder and two cones). The silo is made up of a cylinder (with height 10 feet and base radius 5 feet) and two cones (each with height 5 ft and base radius 5 ft). The formulas given are used to determine the total volume of the silo. Since the two cones have identical dimensions, the total volume of the silo, in cubic feet, is found using the following equation - approximately equal to 1,047.2 cubic feet.