The surface area of an official NBA basketball is 88.36π

square inches.

Approximately how tall would 15 NBA basketballs be if they were stacked on top of each other?

1 answer

To determine the height of 15 NBA basketballs stacked on top of each other, we first need to find the radius of a single basketball from the given surface area.

The formula for the surface area \( A \) of a sphere is:

\[ A = 4\pi r^2 \]

Given that the surface area of an official NBA basketball is \( 88.36\pi \):

\[ 4\pi r^2 = 88.36\pi \]

We can divide both sides by \( \pi \):

\[ 4r^2 = 88.36 \]

Next, divide both sides by 4:

\[ r^2 = \frac{88.36}{4} = 22.09 \]

Now take the square root of both sides to find the radius \( r \):

\[ r = \sqrt{22.09} \approx 4.69 \text{ inches} \]

The diameter \( d \) of the basketball is twice the radius:

\[ d = 2r \approx 2 \times 4.69 \approx 9.38 \text{ inches} \]

To find the total height of 15 basketballs stacked on top of each other, we multiply the diameter by 15:

\[ \text{Total height} = 15 \times d \approx 15 \times 9.38 \approx 140.7 \text{ inches} \]

Thus, the approximate height of 15 stacked NBA basketballs is:

\[ \boxed{140.7 \text{ inches}} \]