How many cubic meters of dirt are there in a​ pile, conical in​ shape, 9 m in diameter and 4 m​ high?

There are approximately
  
cubic meters of dirt in the pile.

1 answer

To find the volume of a conical pile of dirt, you can use the formula for the volume of a cone:

\[ V = \frac{1}{3} \pi r^2 h \]

where:

  • \( V \) is the volume,
  • \( r \) is the radius of the base,
  • \( h \) is the height of the cone.
  1. The diameter of the conical pile is 9 m, so the radius \( r \) is half of that:

\[ r = \frac{9}{2} = 4.5 , \text{m} \]

  1. The height \( h \) of the pile is given as 4 m.

  2. Now, plug the values into the volume formula:

\[ V = \frac{1}{3} \pi (4.5)^2 (4) \]

  1. Calculate \( (4.5)^2 \):

\[ (4.5)^2 = 20.25 \]

  1. Now, substitute back into the volume formula:

\[ V = \frac{1}{3} \pi (20.25)(4) \] \[ V = \frac{1}{3} \pi (81) \] \[ V = 27 \pi \]

  1. To get a numerical approximation, use \( \pi \approx 3.14 \):

\[ V \approx 27 \times 3.14 \approx 84.78 , \text{m}^3 \]

Thus, there are approximately 84.78 cubic meters of dirt in the pile.