Question

A two-lane highway is 8 meters wide and the asphalt is typically 4cm thick. What would the volume of the asphalt be for a road that is 20km long? Express your answer in cubic meters.​

Answer 1

The volume of the highway's asphalt will be 6,400 cubic meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

Volume is the overall magnitude of the three dimensions of a given object, that is, its width, length and depth. Thus, to obtain the volume of a certain object, its width must be multiplied by its length and this result in turn by its depth: W x L x D.

Thus, in this case, the highway has a width of 8 meters, a height of 4 cm and a depth of 20 km. As a first measure, all units of measurement must be expressed in a uniform way, for which the meter will be used in this case. Thus, the width of the highway will not vary, while its height will go from 4 cm to 0.04 meters (4/100), and its length will go from 20 km to 20,000 meters (20 x 1,000).

So, to obtain the volume of the asphalt on this highway, the following calculation must be performed:

8 x 0.04 x 20,000 = Volume

6,400 = Volume

Thus, the volume of the highway's asphalt will be 6,400 cubic meters.