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Lesson: Intermediate Problem Solving - 26t01

Practice: Visualization

[Page 26 of 27]
Let's try one more question. Select the correct answer and then click Continue.

Small cubes with edges of length 2 and spheres with radius 1 are packed into a crate with dimensions 2 by 4 by 6. If the crate already holds 4 cubes, what is the least number of spheres needed to fill the crate?
0
2
4
8
12

There are two important spatial relationships in this question: the relationship of a sphere and a cube, and the relationship of these two solids to the crate. Although some might tackle this without any sketching, the visualization involved is fairly tough, so sketching is a good approach unless you are very comfortable visualizing solids and calculating volumes.

Cube vs. Square: By sketching both solids, we can see that they would take up equal amounts of space if packed together in a crate. The sphere, which has a radius of 1 and a diameter of 2, has less volume, but it takes up the same amount of space due to its shape. This space is equivalent to the volume of the cube: so each sphere takes up 8 units worth of space.

Solids/Crate: This relationship can be solved via the volume formula for a rectangle (l × w × h). A rectangle that measures 2 by 4 by 6 holds 2 × 4 × 6 = 48 square units. Once again, this can also be drawn out:

Therefore, each solid, whether a cube or sphere, takes up 8 square units. Since there are 48 square units of space in the crate, then the crate can hold a total of 6 solids. The question stem states that there are 4 cubes in the crate, so there must be at least 2 spheres to fill the crate. Choice (B) is correct.

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