SEARCH HOME
Math CentralQuandaries & Queries

search

Question from ed, a parent:

i have a piece of sheet metal 56' 6" long what is the size of the circle it would make?

Hi Ed,

I assume you want to roll up the piece of metal to form a circular cylinder.

cylinder

The circle will thus have a circumference of 56 ft 6 in or 678 inches. The circumference of a circle is

2 π r

where r is the radius and π is approximately 3.1416. Thus you have

678 = 2 π r

and thus

r = 678/(2 π) = 107.91 inches

12 × 9 = 108 so the radius of the circle is very close to 9 ft.

We are curious about what you are making. Can you tell us?

Penny

About Math Central
 

 


Math Central is supported by the University of Regina and The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.
Quandaries & Queries page Home page University of Regina PIMS