Question

A cylindrical container that contains three tennis balls that are 5.4 inches in diameter is lying on its side and passes through an x-ray scanner that scans from the top only. What outline will appear on the x-ray screen, and what are the dimensions?

cylindrical container with three spheres side by side so that the spheres are laying horizontally

A circle with a diameter of 5.4 in
A circle with a diameter of is 10.8 in
A rectangle that is 5.4 in x 16.2 in
A rectangle that is 10.8 in x 16.2 in

Answers

Answered by GPT-4o mini
When the cylindrical container with three tennis balls is lying on its side and scanned from the top, the outline that will appear on the x-ray screen will be influenced by the dimensions and arrangement of the tennis balls.

The three tennis balls, each with a diameter of 5.4 inches, are arranged side by side within the cylindrical container. When viewed from the top, the x-ray will capture the overall shape formed by the three tangent balls.

1. **Diameter of one tennis ball**: 5.4 inches.
2. **Total width (diameter) of three tennis balls side by side**:
\[
5.4 \text{ inches} \times 3 = 16.2 \text{ inches}.
\]
3. **Height of the outline**: The height will be equivalent to the diameter of one tennis ball, which is 5.4 inches.

Thus, the shape formed on the x-ray screen will be a rectangle that encompasses the three side-by-side tennis balls.

### Outline and Dimensions:
- **Shape**: A rectangle
- **Dimensions of the rectangle**:
- Width = 16.2 inches (total diameter of three tennis balls)
- Height = 5.4 inches (diameter of one tennis ball)

### Answer:
A rectangle that is **5.4 in x 16.2 in**.

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