+0  
 
0
982
1
avatar+12 

BACKGROUND INFO:

Okay, I know at first this may seem obvious if you don't think about it hard enough because there are different forms of packing, and this will end up with no pattern (most likely). I have seen examples of 12 circles being packed in a square, but this might not be the most efficient because now we are including rectangles.

 

Okay, so here is the question, word for word:

A shipping company is designing boxes to meet specific requirements.

  • Each box must be a completely closed rectangular prism with no overlapping material.
  • The boxes must hold 24 cans in two layers each.
  • The cans are 3 inches in diameter and 5 inches in height.

What is the smallest amount of cardboard needed to meet the specifications?

 

Could you solve and explain this?

Thx!

 Jan 11, 2017
 #1
avatar+129852 
+5

Configurations

 

1 row of 12 cans in each layer    W = 36   L = 3   H = 10  

cardboared needed  = 2 [ 36 + 3 + 10 ]  = 98 in^2

 

2 rows of 6 cans in each layer    W = 18   L = 6   H = 10  

cardboared needed  = 2 [ 18 + 6 + 10 ]  = 78 in^2

 

3 rows of 4 cans in each layer    W = 12   L = 9   H = 10  

cardboared needed  = 2 [ 12 + 9 + 10 ]  = 62 in^2

 

Note.... the nearer that the layers  approach a "square" configuration, the less material used.....check most boxes of canned goods at any store......you will probably see this

 

 

cool cool cool

 Jan 12, 2017

2 Online Users

avatar