Volume & Surface Area

Chart
Use the applet at http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/users/carvell/3dbox/default.html to find out the size of the square corners that should be cut out to get the maximum volume for each of the paper sizes below.

1. Paper size: 5 x 10
Length of square (cut out)
Surface  Area
Volume
1


2








Which length of square cut out makes a box with the maximum volume?

2. Paper size: 11 by 14
Length of square (cut out)
Surface  Area
Volume
1


2


3


4


5


6


Which length of square cut out makes a box with the maximum volume?

3. Paper Size: 18 by 22
Length of square (cut out)
Surface  Area
Volume
1


2


3


4


5


6


7


8


Which length of square cut out makes a box with the maximum volume?

In the examples above, how would you describe the boxes that have the maximum volume?

What happens to the surface area as you increase the size of the squares cut out? Why?