Rearranging to eliminate the R variable in volume equation

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem involving the volume of a truncated cone-shaped glass being filled with water. Participants are tasked with finding the rate of change of the height of the water as it fills, given specific dimensions and a filling rate.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore how to eliminate the variables R and r from the volume equation. Some discuss the linear relationship between the changing radius R and the height h of the water, while others question the appropriateness of their derived relationships.

Discussion Status

There is an ongoing exploration of the relationships between the variables involved. Some participants have suggested potential substitutions for R based on the height, while others are questioning the validity of these substitutions and their implications for the problem. The discussion reflects a mix of attempts to clarify the relationships and the mathematical reasoning behind them.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating the constraints of the problem, including the need to maintain consistency in the relationships between the dimensions of the glass and the volume of water. There is acknowledgment of the challenge posed by the variable nature of R as the glass fills.

FiveAlive
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A water glass (10 cm diameter at the top, 6 cm diameter at the bottom, 20 cm in height) is being filled at a rate of 50 cm^3/min. Find the rate of change of the height of the water after 5 seconds.

V=(∏* (h/3)) * (R^2 + r^2 +(R*r))

I've been messing around with this for a bit and made a bit of leeway but I'm unsure of how to eliminate R and r from my equation. If it was a cone I would use the r/h=5/20 and rearrange to 5h/20 and replace my 'r' then differentiate. However that ratio doesn't seem to work on a truncated cylinder and I have two radius-es. Any suggestions?
 
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What are R, r, and h?
 
R=5 cm r= 3 cm h= 20 cm
 
FiveAlive said:
R=5 cm r= 3 cm h= 20 cm

Ok. So r is your lower radius. That's a constant. As the glass fills R and h will change. But there is a linear relation between them since the edge of the glass is a straight line. When h=0 cm then R=3 cm. When h=20 cm R=5 cm. What's the linear relation?
 
OK cool I think I get what you're going at. If I put those point on a graph the slope would be a slope of R/H=10/1. I can sub that in for R and put 3 in for r because it's a constant. Simplified it might look a little something like this

V= 100H^3(1/3)∏ + 90H^2(1/3)∏ + 9H(1/3)∏

I'm still a little uncertain what to do with the issue of time. Could I take the derivative of the height (20 cm) ,when the glass is full, get the rate of change and then attempt to find the rate algebraically?
 
FiveAlive said:
OK cool I think I get what you're going at. If I put those point on a graph the slope would be a slope of R/H=10/1. I can sub that in for R and put 3 in for r because it's a constant. Simplified it might look a little something like this

V= 100H^3(1/3)∏ + 90H^2(1/3)∏ + 9H(1/3)∏

I'm still a little uncertain what to do with the issue of time. Could I take the derivative of the height (20 cm) ,when the glass is full, get the rate of change and then attempt to find the rate algebraically?

But R=10h doesn't work. Remember, when h=0 cm then R=3 cm. When h=20 cm R=5 cm. If I put h=0 into R=10h I get 0, not 3. Can you fix that? For the other part of your question how much water is in the glass after 5s? Use that to find R and h at the time you want to find the rates.
 
Could I use R=5H/20 and plug 3 in as a constant? If you plug in 0, the answer will still be 0 however I am a little unsure what else to try since I can't think of a number that i can multiply times 0 and not get 0, unless I just add 3 on to the end like

R= 5h/20 + 3
 
FiveAlive said:
Could I use R=5H/20 and plug 3 in as a constant? If you plug in 0, the answer will still be 0 however I am a little unsure what else to try since I can't think of a number that i can multiply times 0 and not get 0, unless I just add 3 on to the end like

R= 5h/20 + 3

R=5h/20+3 is ok, for h=0. But at h=20 you want R=5, it's NOT ok there. Fix the slope. What should be multiplying h instead of 5/20?
 
Last edited:

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