WHAT SIZE FISH TANK WOULD YOU LIKE?

We now know how to determine the capacity of our fish tank. This capacity is called “volume” , and the little cubes we worked with are called “cubic units”. We know that the fish will need 12 gallons of water, and each gallon takes 230 cubic inches. That translates into about 2760 cubic inches. What you need to do now is to determine how long, wide and high you want the aquarium to be.

Note that the tank has to sit on a shelf that is 12 inches wide, so it can be no more than 10 inches wide. Keep that in mind as you work. Use the worksheet to keep track of the possible sizes you find.

 

HINT

Try to see if you can come up with an efficient and systematic way of finding the greatest number of possible combinations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here for directions on Building the Aquarium

In the table below list as many combinations of dimensions as you can for your aquarium design. Remember that the width can be no more than 10 in. and each volume should equal 2760 in3 .

Length
Width
Height
Volume

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The dimensions we will use are:

Length _____

Width ______

Height ______

Return to Estimate Capacity page

Learn how to calculate Volume