1. A square piece of cardboard measuring 60 inches on a side is made into a rectangular box by cutting identical squares from the four corners and then folding up the flaps. Let represent the length of the side of the discarded square. Write a formula for the volume of the box in terms of X.

Question

Im so confused! Don't even know where to begin

Answer 1

Let x = side length of square discarded

The volume of rectangular solid is given by
V = lwh
where l, w and h are the length, width and height respectively.
When the flaps are folded up, it acquires a height, and this height measures x inches, since you cut a square with a side length of x inches.
The length and width are therefore decreased by 2x.

Thus, volume becomes
V = (60 - 2x)(60 - 2x)(x)

hope this helps~ `u`