Question

A certain species of fish require 1.5 cubic feet of water per fish to maintain a healthy environment. Find the maximum number of fish you could put in a tank measuring 5 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet.

Answer 1

40

Explanation:

Given information:

• 1.5 ft³ = Volume of water required per fish.
• Dimensions of the tank = 5 ft × 3 ft × 4 ft

Model the tank as a rectangular prism.

`\begin{aligned}\textsf{Volume of a rectangular prism}&=\sf width * length * height\\\\\implies \textsf{Volume of tank}&=\sf 5 \; ft * 3\; ft * 4 \; ft\\& = \sf 15\;ft^2 * 4\;ft\\& = \sf 60 \; ft^3\end{aligned}`

To find the maximum number of fish that can be put in the tank, divide the found volume of the tank by the given volume of water required per fish:

`\begin{aligned}\textsf{Maximum number of fish}&=\textsf{Volume of tank} / \textsf{Water per fish}\\& = \sf 60\;ft^3 / 1.5 \; ft^3\\& = \sf 60 / 1.5\\& = \sf 40\end{aligned}`

Therefore, the maximum number of fish that can be put in the tank is 40.