SPHERE

A Presentation By Samantha Reagan Selman

THE VOLUME OF A

The Sphere

A sphere (from Greek sphaira, "globe, ball") is a perfectly round geometrical object in three-dimensional space, such as the shape of a round ball. Like a circle in two dimensions, a perfect sphere is completely symmetrical around its center, with all points on the surface lying the same distance r from the center point. This distance r is known as the radius of the sphere. The maximum straight distance through the sphere is known as the diameter of the sphere. It passes through the center and is thus twice the radius.

The Volume of a Sphere

In 3 dimensions, the volume inside a sphere is given by the formula: V=4/3r

3

This formula was first derived by Archimedes, who showed that the volume of a sphere is 2/3 that of a circumscribed cylinder. (This assertion follows from Cavalieri's principle.) During his

lifetime, Archimedes expressed the wish that upon his tomb there should be placed a cylinder circumscribing a sphere within it, together with an inscription giving the ratio between the volumes of these two bodies. We can infer that he regarded the discovery of this ratio as his greatest achievement.

If we had a sphere with a radius of two centimeters, we could find the volume of the sphere by using the method shown below: V= 4 23 3 = 4 8 3 = 32 (cm3) 3 Simplifying this further, we would come up with a volume close to

33.51 cm3.