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.

1 answer

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.