Name: Anonymous 2009-02-24 16:26
Math 107 — Spring 2009 — Class Project
Project Description
You work at a gas station, and one of your jobs is to measure the amount of gas left in the
underground storage tanks. To do this, you take a stick specially designed for each of the various
tanks, dip it into a hole in the top of the tank and push it all the way to the bottom. When you
pull the stick out, it is wet with gasoline, and tick-marks on the stick inform you how many gallons
remain in the tank.
One day, the special measuring sticks are stolen. You go the hardware store, but can only find
a stick with inch marks on it. In this project, you will find a formula to compute the amount of gas
in the tanks using only the inch measuring stick.
You do know that each gas tank is a perfect cylinder, lying on its side, as pictured below. Since
the tanks vary in size, let’s consider a tank of radius R inches and length L inches. Suppose that
when you dip the stick into the tank, the wet mark on it indicates the tank is full to a depth of h
inches. (Of course, h will be somewhere between 0 and 2R.)
1. Set up and evaluate a definite integral that gives the number of gallons of gas left in the
storage tank. Be sure to explain all your work, both with words and by drawing appropriate
figures. Tip: You may find it useful to introduce coordinates for the circular cross section of
the cylinder by placing the origin at its center.
2. Now find a way to compute the same thing, using only basic geometry and trigonometry, no
calculus.
3. Show that the answers you got in the previous parts are the same.
4. You decide to mark a stick to be used for future use for one of the tanks. This particular
tank has radius 100 inches and length 400 inches. You put marks indicating 50, 100, 150, etc.
gallons. Indicate how the tick-marks are drawn on the stick.
5. Now suppose the tank is not a circular cylinder, but rather it is an elliptical cylinder. (See
the figure below.) That is, assume the cross section taken perpendicular to the central axis of
the cylinder is an ellipse whose major axis is parallel to the ground. The width of the tank
(i.e., the length of the major axis of the cross section) is 220 inches, the height of the tank
(i.e., the length of the minor axis of the cross section) is 180 inches and the length of the tank
is 400 inches. Use a definite integral to find a formula for the amount of gasoline in the tank
when the stick indicates a depth of h inches.
Project Description
You work at a gas station, and one of your jobs is to measure the amount of gas left in the
underground storage tanks. To do this, you take a stick specially designed for each of the various
tanks, dip it into a hole in the top of the tank and push it all the way to the bottom. When you
pull the stick out, it is wet with gasoline, and tick-marks on the stick inform you how many gallons
remain in the tank.
One day, the special measuring sticks are stolen. You go the hardware store, but can only find
a stick with inch marks on it. In this project, you will find a formula to compute the amount of gas
in the tanks using only the inch measuring stick.
You do know that each gas tank is a perfect cylinder, lying on its side, as pictured below. Since
the tanks vary in size, let’s consider a tank of radius R inches and length L inches. Suppose that
when you dip the stick into the tank, the wet mark on it indicates the tank is full to a depth of h
inches. (Of course, h will be somewhere between 0 and 2R.)
1. Set up and evaluate a definite integral that gives the number of gallons of gas left in the
storage tank. Be sure to explain all your work, both with words and by drawing appropriate
figures. Tip: You may find it useful to introduce coordinates for the circular cross section of
the cylinder by placing the origin at its center.
2. Now find a way to compute the same thing, using only basic geometry and trigonometry, no
calculus.
3. Show that the answers you got in the previous parts are the same.
4. You decide to mark a stick to be used for future use for one of the tanks. This particular
tank has radius 100 inches and length 400 inches. You put marks indicating 50, 100, 150, etc.
gallons. Indicate how the tick-marks are drawn on the stick.
5. Now suppose the tank is not a circular cylinder, but rather it is an elliptical cylinder. (See
the figure below.) That is, assume the cross section taken perpendicular to the central axis of
the cylinder is an ellipse whose major axis is parallel to the ground. The width of the tank
(i.e., the length of the major axis of the cross section) is 220 inches, the height of the tank
(i.e., the length of the minor axis of the cross section) is 180 inches and the length of the tank
is 400 inches. Use a definite integral to find a formula for the amount of gasoline in the tank
when the stick indicates a depth of h inches.