Question

Various cylindrical storage tanks are designed to hold a given amount of oil. The inverse variation equation shows the relationship between the area of the base of the cylinder, x, and the height of the oil in the tank, y.

y = StartFraction 3 x 10 Superscript 8 Baseline Over x EndFraction

What is the base area of the tank to the nearest square foot if the height of the oil in the tank is 38 feet?
208 ft2
7,985 ft2
11,400,000 ft2
433,200,000 ft2

Answer 1

We have y = (3×10^8)/x and y = 38, so

x = (3×10^8)/38 = 300,000,000 / 38 = 7,894,736.842...

Rounded to the nearest square foot: 7,894,737 ft^2.

That value is not listed among the choices. If you must pick the closest given option, 11,400,000 ft^2 is the nearest.