When fully inflated, a blue exercise ball has a diameter of 56 cm.

A similar red exercise ball, when fully inflated, has a diameter of 76 cm.

Which statement is true?

(2 points)
Responses

The volume of the blue ball is about 2.5 times larger than the volume of the red ball.
The volume of the blue ball is about 2.5 times larger than the volume of the red ball.

The volume of the red ball is about 1.5 times larger than the volume of the blue ball.
The volume of the red ball is about 1.5 times larger than the volume of the blue ball.

The volume of the red ball is about 2.5 times larger than the volume of the blue ball.
The volume of the red ball is about 2.5 times larger than the volume of the blue ball.

The volume of the blue ball is about 1.5 times larger than the volume of the red ball.

1 answer

To determine which statement is true about the volumes of the blue and red exercise balls, we can calculate the volumes using the formula for the volume of a sphere:

\[ V = \frac{4}{3} \pi r^3 \]

where \( r \) is the radius of the sphere.

  1. Calculate the radius of each ball:

    • Blue ball: Diameter = 56 cm, so the radius \( r_b = \frac{56}{2} = 28 \) cm.

    • Red ball: Diameter = 76 cm, so the radius \( r_r = \frac{76}{2} = 38 \) cm.

  2. Calculate the volume of each ball:

    • Volume of the blue ball \( V_b \): \[ V_b = \frac{4}{3} \pi (28)^3 \] \[ V_b \approx \frac{4}{3} \pi \times 21952 \approx \frac{4}{3} \times 3.14 \times 21952 \approx 91634.67 \text{ cm}^3 \]

    • Volume of the red ball \( V_r \): \[ V_r = \frac{4}{3} \pi (38)^3 \] \[ V_r \approx \frac{4}{3} \pi \times 54872 \approx \frac{4}{3} \times 3.14 \times 54872 \approx 229526.79 \text{ cm}^3 \]

  3. Compare the volumes:

    Now we need to determine how many times larger the volume of the red ball is compared to the volume of the blue ball: \[ \text{Ratio} = \frac{V_r}{V_b} \approx \frac{229526.79}{91634.67} \approx 2.5 \]

From this calculation, we find that the volume of the red ball is about 2.5 times larger than the volume of the blue ball.

Therefore, the correct statement is:

The volume of the red ball is about 2.5 times larger than the volume of the blue ball.