There are two different ways to find surface area of a rectangular prism. One is by drawing the solid's two-dimensional net and finding the area of each rectangular face. The other is by applying the formula
for surface area of a prism. Both strategies can be used to work backwards and determine the dimensions of a rectangular prism with a given surface area.
In your post, describe the process you might use in order to determine the dimensions of a rectangular box to package a product, given a maximum surface area. In addition, elaborate on your journal post,
sharing different possible box dimensions for a fixed surface area of 444 square inches.
Here are some other questions to consider for your post:
• How can you minimize the number of calculations required to check whether your box is below the maximum surface area?
• How can you use estimation skills to help you?
• What is the relationship between the dimensions of your box and the volume it can contain? How can you maximize volume with a fixed surface area?
• If the fixed surface area were a different number of square inches, would you have more possibilities for dimensions of your box?
3 answers
To minimize the number of calculations required to check whether a box is below the maximum surface area, one could start with a rough estimation of the dimensions of the box. By starting with approximate dimensions and adjusting them as needed, one can quickly determine if the box meets the surface area requirement without needing to calculate exact values for each possibility.
Estimation skills can also be useful in maximizing volume with a fixed surface area. By estimating the dimensions that would result in a box with the largest volume while still meeting the surface area requirement, one can quickly identify the ideal dimensions for the box.
The relationship between the dimensions of the box and the volume it can contain is that increasing the dimensions of the box will generally increase the volume, assuming the surface area remains constant. To maximize volume with a fixed surface area, one would need to find the dimensions that would result in a box with the greatest possible volume given the constraints.
If the fixed surface area were a different number of square inches, there would likely be more possibilities for dimensions of the box. A smaller surface area would allow for a wider range of dimensions that could still meet the requirement, while a larger surface area would limit the possibilities for dimensions that would result in a box with the desired surface area.