Mai has a new aquarium. The tank is in the shape of a rectangular prism,

48in
long,
36in
wide, and
24in
deep. She plans to raise fish and sell them to a local pet store. The pet store will inspect the aquarium to make sure that the fish are being kept in a healthful environment. One of the main concerns is that each fish has enough water. Mai looks up the amount of water needed for the species of fish she plans to raise. She finds the answer, but it is given in cubic feet.
(a) Find the volume of water that the tank holds in cubic feet. Use the table of conversion facts, as needed.
ft3


(b) The particular species Mai plans to raise requires at least
1.4ft3
of water per fish. If there is any amount less than this, no matter how much less, the pet store will not accept Mai's fish. What is the largest whole number of fish that she can keep in the aquarium?
fish


(c) The pet store will pay
$7.99
for each fish. If she fully populates her aquarium and sells all the fish, how much money will she collect?

1 answer

(a) The volume of the tank in cubic feet is:

V = l x w x h
V = 48in x 36in x 24in
V = 41,472 cubic inches

To convert cubic inches to cubic feet, we need to divide by 12^3 (since there are 12 inches in a foot):

V = 41,472 / 12^3
V ≈ 24 cubic feet

Therefore, the tank holds approximately 24 cubic feet of water.

(b) To find the largest whole number of fish she can keep, we need to divide the volume of the tank by the required volume of water per fish:

N = V / 1.4
N = 24 / 1.4
N ≈ 17.14

Since she can't have a fraction of a fish, the largest whole number of fish she can keep is 17.

(c) If she sells all 17 fish at $7.99 each, she will collect:

17 x $7.99 = $135.83

Therefore, she will collect $135.83 if she fully populates her aquarium and sells all the fish.