Your principal surprises you by buying your class a turtle. He brings the turtle to your class along with a sheet from the pet store titled "Turtle Tank Rule."

Question

*Tank walls must be at least 1 foot tall so the turtle can't climb out.

*There must be at least 400 square inches of floor space for the turtle to walk around on.

Your teacher says the volume of the tank must be smaller than 5000 cubic inches so it doesn't take up too much room in the classroom.

Give the dimensions of a tank that would work for your new turtle. Use words and numbers to explain how your tank satisfies the "Turtle Tank Rules" and your teacher requirements.

Volume of a rectangular prism= length X width X height

Answer 1

To satisfy the "Turtle Tank Rules" and your teacher's requirements, we need a tank with dimensions that meet the following criteria:

1. The tank walls must be at least 1 foot tall: We will choose a height of 1 foot for our tank.

2. There must be at least 400 square inches of floor space for the turtle: Let's say the length of the tank is x inches and the width is y inches. The area of the base of the tank (length x width) must be equal to or greater than 400 square inches.

3. The volume of the tank must be smaller than 5000 cubic inches: The volume of the tank (length x width x height) must be equal to or less than 5000 cubic inches.

Let's choose dimensions that will work for our tank:

Height: 12 inches

Length: 20 inches

Width: 20 inches

Now let's check if these dimensions meet all the criteria:

1. The tank walls are at least 1 foot tall (12 inches).

2. The floor space is 20 inches x 20 inches = 400 square inches, which satisfies the requirement of at least 400 square inches.

3. The volume of the tank is 20 inches x 20 inches x 12 inches = 4800 cubic inches, which is smaller than 5000 cubic inches.

Therefore, a tank with dimensions of 20 inches (length) x 20 inches (width) x 12 inches (height) would work for your new turtle and satisfy all the "Turtle Tank Rules" and your teacher's requirements.