Question

Terry and Bob each have an aquarium. Terry's aquarium is 14 cm long, 12 cm high, and 10 cm wide. Bob's aquarium is 13 cm long, 15 cm high and 8 cm wide. Whose aquarium holds the larger volume of water? Explain how you know.

Answer 1

To determine whose aquarium holds a larger volume of water, we can calculate the volume of each aquarium using the formula for the volume of a rectangular prism, which is:

\[ \text{Volume} = \text{Length} \times \text{Height} \times \text{Width} \]

Let's calculate the volume for Terry's aquarium first:

- Length = 14 cm
- Height = 12 cm
- Width = 10 cm

\[
\text{Volume}_{\text{Terry}} = 14 \, \text{cm} \times 12 \, \text{cm} \times 10 \, \text{cm}
\]

Calculating that:

\[
\text{Volume}_{\text{Terry}} = 14 \times 12 \times 10 = 1680 \, \text{cm}^3
\]

Now, let's calculate the volume for Bob's aquarium:

- Length = 13 cm
- Height = 15 cm
- Width = 8 cm

\[
\text{Volume}_{\text{Bob}} = 13 \, \text{cm} \times 15 \, \text{cm} \times 8 \, \text{cm}
\]

Calculating that:

\[
\text{Volume}_{\text{Bob}} = 13 \times 15 \times 8 = 1560 \, \text{cm}^3
\]

Now we compare the volumes:

- Terry's aquarium: 1680 cm³
- Bob's aquarium: 1560 cm³

Clearly, 1680 cm³ is greater than 1560 cm³.

Therefore, **Terry's aquarium holds a larger volume of water than Bob's aquarium.**