A cubic foot of water weighs about 62.5 pounds.
If an aquarium is 18 feet long, 10 feet deep, and 12 feet wide, what’s the approximate pounds-per-square-inch pressure (psi) on the bottom of the tank?
Answer(s): B
Explanation:
You can determine the pressure of all that water by multiplying the volume of the aquarium by the weight of the water. Volume = lwh.
The bottom of the tank is 18 feet long by 12 feet wide by 10 feet high for a total volume of 2,160 cubic feet (18× 12 × 10).
A cubic foot of water weighs approximately 62.5 pounds.
2,160 × 62.5 gives an approximate pressure on the bottom of the tank of about 135,000 pounds over the entire surface area.
The surface area of the bottom of the tank is length × width. 216 inches (18 feet × 12) × 144 inches (12 feet × 12) = 31,104.
Dividing the pressure of 135,000 by the number of square inches of surface area gives an approximate PSI of 4.
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