Marie Bliss

May 2nd, 2022

Geometry
Ms. Brubaker

I am choosing a cube.
Cube volume formula: V=a^3
Surface area: 6a^2
A cube is more efficient compared to cereal box because a cube’s surface area divided by volume
is a smaller ratio

The volume of a cereal box is height times width times depth. Most cereal boxes have a
dimensions of w=30cm, h=45cm and d=7cm. Surface area is S = 2 [(7*45)]+(30*45)+(7*30)] =
2*1875 = 3750cm^2 square centimeters (cm^2). Volume of the cereal box is 30*45*7=
9,450cm^3.
A cube of the same volume has sides that are 21.14cm. That means that the surface area is
a^2*6=21.14^2*6=2681.3976cm^2. Volume: a*a*a=21.14^3=9447.4575cm^3.

The ratio of surface area to volume is a good comparison of shape efficiency. The SA/V ratio for
the cereal box is 3,750/9,450=0.3968. The SA/V for the cube is 2681.3976/9,447.4575=0.2838.
This smaller SA/V value shows that the cube is more efficient than the cereal box.

Since the cost is in square inches and my surface area and volume is in centimeters, I will
convert those numbers. 3,750cm^2 is equal to 581.2512 The cost for the traditional cereal box is
0.05*581.25 or $29.06, which seems very high. The conversion of surface area for the cube is
415.61 sq inches. The cost for a cereal box that is a cube is $0.05*415.61=$20.78. This too
seems high, but it seems that the cost of cardboard is really $0.005 per square inch rather than
what is stated in the problem. Either way, the cube with the same amount of volume is less
expensive than the traditional cereal box.

My cubic cereal box has dimensions of 21.14 centimeters per side. It is cheaper to manufacture
because it uses less cardboard for the same amount of volume as the traditional cereal box.

Measurements of a standard cereal box:

Most cereal boxes have a Surface area is S = 2 Volume of the cereal box is
dimensions of w=30cm, [(7*45)]+(30*45)+(7*30)] = 30*45*7= 9,450cm^3.
h=45cm and d=7cm. 2*1875 = 3750cm^2 square
centimeters (cm^2).
I would assume a reason why cereal boxes are rectangular is to maximize shelf space in grocery
stores. Rectangular cereal boxes are skinny and easy to place in front of each other on shelves.
The thin rectangular shape also allows easy access to the cereal using only one hand, cereal is
seen as a “lazy” food option seeing as though it takes maximum 3 minutes to make a bowl of
cereal. Many other optional shapes for cereal boxes would most likely not be as easy access or
would require two hands to pour cereal out of.

A pro of cube shaped cereal boxes is they are more likely to hold more cereal than rectangular
and skinny boxes, a con would be the lack of options when it comes to stacking or organizing
cube shaped boxes on grocery store shelves. Rectangular boxes are easy to stack and can be
stocked in many different ways whereas cube boxes have few stack possibilities. Another pro
would be that a smaller and more compact cereal box (cube) would allow for easier placement in
kitchen cabinets, sometimes shelf/cabinet space in kitchens are not long enough for long and
skinny cereal boxes to fit in. A cube cereal box would be shorter and stubbier allowing for more
possibilities in kitchen cabinets. Another con would be that it would be harder to pour out the
cereal in a cube box.