What is the average weight of water in the tank?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the average weight of water in a cylindrical tank being filled at a constant rate. The tank has a radius of 3 ft and a height of 5 ft, and participants are tasked with conjecturing about the average weight over the filling period and verifying it through integration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the volume calculation of the cylinder and the implications for setting up the integral. There are questions about the correct formula for the volume of a cylinder and how to compute the average weight of the water. Some participants suggest that the average weight in a linear scenario is half of the total weight, while others inquire about the approach for non-linear problems.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants clarifying misconceptions about the volume formula and exploring the setup of integrals. There is a recognition of the need to correctly apply the average value formula in the context of the problem, and some guidance has been provided regarding the integration process.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the constraints of a homework assignment, which may limit the information they can use or the methods they can apply. There is a focus on understanding the mathematical principles involved rather than reaching a definitive solution.

demonelite123
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Water is run at a constant rate of 1 ft^3/min to fill a cylindrical tank of radius 3ft and height 5ft. Assuming that the tank is initially empty, make a conjecture about the average weight of the water in the tank over the time period required to fill it, and then check your conjecture by integrating. (Take the weight density of water to be 62.4 lb/ft^3).

i found the volume of the cylinder to be 235.619 ft^3 which means it will take 235.619 min to fill the tank. so i set up the integral as (1/235.619) integral from (0 to 235.619) of (62.4) dt. i didn't get the correct answer. the correct answer is 1404(pi). please help me set up the correct integral.
 
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Hi demonelite123! :smile:

(have a pi: π and try using the X2 tag just above the Reply box :wink:)
demonelite123 said:
Water is run at a constant rate of 1 ft^3/min to fill a cylindrical tank of radius 3ft and height 5ft …

i found the volume of the cylinder to be 235.619 ft^3 …

eek! … that's πh2r, isn't it? :redface:
 
As tiny-tim points out, the volume of a cylinder of radius r and height h is \pi r^2 h, not \pi r h^2 which you appear to be using. And, of course, for a linear problem like this the "average" weight of the water will be 1/2 the full weight.
 
OH oops. what a silly mistake to make. thanks for the reply guys!

also, if the problem is linear i know now to just take half of the total but what if the problem is not linear?
 
demonelite123 said:
also, if the problem is linear i know now to just take half of the total but what if the problem is not linear?

uhh? just integrate … that will give you the answer automatically.
 
i have another question regarding the original problem.

how come after you take the integral you don't divide by 45pi? isn't the formula for average value the integral divided by (b-a) which in this case is (T-0) = T = 45pi?
 
demonelite123 said:
i have another question regarding the original problem.

how come after you take the integral you don't divide by 45pi? isn't the formula for average value the integral divided by (b-a) which in this case is (T-0) = T = 45pi?

Hi demonelite123! :smile:

(what happened to that π i gave you? :confused:)

Yes, that's right … for the average, you divide tby the time, which in this case is 45π.

I suspect you had the wrong integral … what integral did you use?
 

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