Suppose you have a square piece of cardboard that measures 8 inches along each side. To construct an open box out of the
cardboard, you can cul same-size squares from the 4 comers
of the cardboard and then turn up and tape the sides.
JESSIONE
Time
Name
Date
LESSON
9.10
A Box Problem
original
shoot
(8-2h)"
cutout
comer
(8-2)
Box made by cutting out squaro
corners and folding up sides
1. José cut out small square comers to make his box.
Amy cut out large square comers to make her box.
a. Whose box was taller?
b. Whose box had a
greater area of the base?
The volume of the box depends on the size of the squares
cut from the comers.
2. Find the dimensions of the box with the greatest possible volume. Use trial and error
to solve the problem. Keep a record of your results in the spreadsheet below.
a. Three test values for h (the height of the box) are listed in Column A.
Complete rows 4, 5, and 6.
D
B
1
Boxes
А
e
Problem: Find the length that maximizes the box volume.
2 box height (in.) box length, width (in.) base area of box (in.) volume of box (in.)
h
8 - 2h
(8 - 2h)
(8-2h) *h
1
3
4
36
6
2
5
6
3
7
8
9
b. Use the spreadsheet results to select new test values for h that are likely
to give a box of greater volume. Complete the statement below.
The box that I found with the greatest volume has a height of
cubic inches.
inches and a volume of
316