Problem 2

Planters take on a cylindrical

shape where the height to Problem 2 A Dirty Business
radius ratio is 2:1 in this The Plant-A-Seed Company also makes cylindrical shaped planters for city sidewalks and
situation. Given the length of the store fronts . The cylindrical shaped planters come in a variety of sizes, but all have a height
radius of the cylinder, students to radius ratio of 2:1 .

will complete a table of values r

listing various sizes of planters Recall from
with respect to the height, base Geometry that this
constant ratio makes
area, and volume. They describe h
the planters in this
a method to determine the problem similar.
volume when the length of the
radius is known, and a method
for determining the base area
1. Why do you think Plant-A-Seed might want to manufacture different sizes of a product, 3
and the height when the volume but maintain a constant ratio, such as height to radius ratio of 2:1?
is known. Students use the
3
Answers will vary.
table of values to conclude that A company might want all of the products to be similar. Changing this ratio will
every unit increase in the radius change the overall appearance of the product.

causes the height to double, 2. Consider different sized cylindrical planters .

the area of the base to increase
Recall the
a. Complete the table . following formulas:
by 4 units, and the volume to Base Area Volume Volume of a cylinder:
Height V 5 (base area)(height)
increase by 8 units. Students Radius (square (cubic
(inches)
inches) inches) Area of a circle:
are given a base area function, A 5 pr2
0 0 0 0
a height function, and a volume
function. They then sketch 1 2 3.14 6.28
and label the functions on the
2 4 12.56 50.24
same coordinate plane. Using
a graphing calculator, students 3 6 28.26 169.56
contrast and compare the linear
© Carnegie Learning

function, quadratic function, and 4 8 50.24 401.92

cubic function. Students explain

6.83 13.66 146.47 2000
why the graph of the volume
function for the cylindrical x 2x 3.14x2 (3.14x2)(2x)

planter crosses the x-axis

only at the origin. The terms b. Describe how you determined the volume when you are given the radius .
I know the height is always twice the radius. So, I substituted the radius into the
cubic function and multiplicity
area of a circle formula to determine the area of the base. I then multiplied the
are defined. The standard
© Carnegie Learning

area of the base and the height to determine volume.

form of a cubic function is
3.1 Exploring Cubic Functions 215
given. Students conclude
cubic functions always have a
• Have students complete Question 2 with a partner. Then have students share
their responses as a class.
common third difference.
451435_Ch03_205-314.indd 215 01/11/13 5:56 PM

Guiding Questions for Share Phase, Question 2, parts (a)

Grouping and (b)
• Ask a student to read the • What is the relationship between the length of the radius and the height of the
introduction and complete cylindrical planter?
Question 1 as a class. • How did you determine the height of each planter in the table of values?
• What is the formula for computing the area of a circle?

3.1  Exploring Cubic Functions    215