Calculate Volume of a Cone: Formulas & Steps

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the volume of a cone, specifically in the context of a composite material application. Participants are exploring the formulas related to the volume of cones and frustums, while addressing issues related to unit conversions and the setup of the problem.

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  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to apply the volume formula for cones and frustums, questioning the correctness of their height calculations and the implications of using different units. Some express confusion over their results and the methods they are using.

Discussion Status

There is an ongoing exploration of various approaches to the problem, with some participants providing insights into their calculations while others express skepticism about the methods being used. Guidance has been offered regarding the need to consider unit consistency and the appropriate formulas for the shapes involved.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating issues related to differing units of measurement (meters, centimeters, millimeters) and the complexity of the shapes involved in the problem, which may be contributing to confusion in their calculations.

Ruturaj Vaidya
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upload_2015-5-31_11-18-27.png
The required Formulas are:

Area of circle = Pi (r)^2

Volume of Cone = 1/3 Pi (r)^2 h

Here is my try:

upload_2015-5-31_11-27-48.png


I know the smaller cone and bigger ones are congurent, so

50/25 = 15/h

h=7.5, but the answer is incorrect. Please help
 
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Ruturaj Vaidya said:
50/25 = 15/h
This is not correct: the height of the bigger cone is not 15.
 
Yes, thanks, I have realized that . The total height is 30m. However, I can't calculate the volume of fiber composite needed?
 
Ruturaj Vaidya said:
Yes, thanks, I have realized that . The total height is 30m. However, I can't calculate the volume of fiber composite needed?
You need the formula for the volume of a frustum of a cone. Find the volume of the outer portion of the cone, and then find the volume of the inside, which is also a frustum of a cone, but a little bit smaller.
 
Yes, I have tried that, but that does not work either :(
 
Ruturaj Vaidya said:
Yes, I have tried that, but that does not work either :(
Why do you think it doesn't work. Please show us what you did.
 
Here is what I did:

I found that the net of the cone are basically two rings (for the composite fiber) and a trapezium)for the curved surface.
It is a three dimensional trapezium, so I multiplied the trapezium's area by the width (2.5cm). I subtracted the volume of the larger trapezium prism with that of the smaller trapezium prism, to gain the composite fiber volume. Here is my working:

upload_2015-5-31_16-50-56.png

However, the answer is ridiculously large, and even when I don't add the area of the circles (as seen above), the answer remains large. The solutions sheet says that the answer is closer to 8.67 cm^3
 
You have the height of a cone measured in meters.
You have the diameter of the cone measured in centimeters.
You have the thickness of the composite measured in millimeters.

So naturally, you just throw all of these different units into a giant crank and expect volume in cubic centimeters to emerge automatically. :rolleyes:

IDK what you are doing using the formula for volume of a three dimensional trapeze-whatever. o_O

This problem can be solved knowing the formula for the volume of a cone and only that formula. :wink:
 
Ruturaj Vaidya said:
Here is what I did:

I found that the net of the cone are basically two rings (for the composite fiber) and a trapezium)for the curved surface.
It is a three dimensional trapezium, so I multiplied the trapezium's area by the width (2.5cm). I subtracted the volume of the larger trapezium prism with that of the smaller trapezium prism, to gain the composite fiber volume. Here is my working:However, the answer is ridiculously large, and even when I don't add the area of the circles (as seen above), the answer remains large. The solutions sheet says that the answer is closer to 8.67 cm^3
You really have things confused here. The image you showed has a trapezoidal shaped solid that has nothing to do with this problem, and you mentioned "area of circles" above.
 

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