Facing History School

Name:

Math: Optimal Water Bottles Project

We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious
diseases that plagues the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe
drinking water, sanitation and basic health care
Kofi Annan, former United Nations SecretaryGeneral
Background: The world water crisis is one of the largest public health issues of our
time. Nearly 1.1 billion people (roughly 20% of the worlds population) lack access to
safe drinking water. The lack of clean, safe drinking water is estimated to kill almost
4,500 children per day. In fact, out of the 2.2 million unsafe drinking water deaths in
2004, 90% were children under the age of five.
Many women and young girls in rural areas in SubSaharan Africa and other parts of
the world must walk as much as six miles everyday to retrieve water for their families.
The women then have to walk back carrying extremely heavy loads. Sometimes this
water spills. Due to this manual labor, such women and children are prevented from
pursuing an education.
Directions: Close Read the text below and find 5 problems caused by lack of water. Write them
here:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Water -Clean water is essential for life, but one in eight of the world's population does not have
access to it. This, and lack of safe sanitation, result in 1.4 million children dying from water-related
diseases every year. The lack of clean water means millions of women and children spend hours
each day searching for water and carrying it home. This exhausting task can cause damage to
their heads, necks and spines, and leaves them with little time for productive work or education.
Carrying the heavy water containers back home is an exhausting task, which takes up valuable
time and energy. It often prevents women from doing vital domestic or income generating work and
stops children from going to school.

http://www.wateraidamerica.org/what_we_do/the_need/sanitation.aspx
Sanitation - Sanitation can be defined as access to safe, clean and effective human urine
and feces disposal facilities. Worldwide, 2.5 billion people live without this essential
service and the resulting diarrheal diseases kill 4,000 children a day.
Disease -Poor sanitation and bad hygiene can result in the contamination of water sources
with millions of disease causing micro-organisms. These micro-organisms work in
different ways to incapacitate infected individuals.
Poverty -Unsafe water and sanitation trap families by poverty by reducing their ability to
earn money, incurring healthcare costs, and disrupting education.
Problems for women - In developing countries poor water and sanitation affects the lives of
women and children the most. It impacts on women's time, health, education and
family relations.
Problems for children -Without safe water and sanitation, life for children in developing
countries can be very hard. They are often at risk from disease and are unable to
attend school.
http://www.wateraidamerica.org/what_we_do/the_need/default.aspx

The Project: The goal of this project will be to design a new water bottle at the
cheapest possible price to send as many of them as possible to places in the world
that desperately need drinking water.
Your task: Find the shape of the bottle that will have the least surface area
per 1 liter volume so that the bottle will cost less to produce (it will have
less material).
Requirements:
1) Complete the math work to solve for the cheapest bottle.
2) Write and introduction, 1 paragraph, and a conclusion to describe your
results

Final Answer
What shape bottle will you choose to make?
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What is the surface area?
Surface Area

Pric
e

Cube
2

Rectangular
Prism
Cylinder
Pyramid
Cone
Optimal Water Bottles Project
Assignment 2: Find the dimensions of the FIVE possible bottles of water.
Your project designer gives you the following requirements for your shapes:
Each bottle must hold 1 liters (1000 cm3). This is the typical amount of water
carried.
The height of each bottle (except for the cube) is 20 cm.
- Your accountant reminds you that 1 cm2 of plastic costs $0.13 to produce.
Shape

Volume
Step 1: Write the volume formula
for cubes

Surface Area
Step 1: Write the formula for
the surface area of a cube

Step 2: Set it equal to the capacity

of the bottle (1000 cm3)

Step 2: Use the dimensions

you found in the second part
of the project and find the
surface area of the cube.

Step 3: Solve for the side

Step 3: Using the cost per
cm2, find the price of a cube
shaped bottle?

Volume
Step 1: Write the volume formula
for rectangular prisms

Surface Area
Step 1: Write the formula for
the surface area of a
rectangular prism

Step 2: Set it equal to the capacity

of the bottle (1000 cm3)

Step 3: Solve for the area of the

base knowing that the height is 20
cm.

Step 2: Use the dimensions

you found in the second part
of the project and find the
surface area of the
rectangular prism.

Step 4: Choose any value between

0 and 10 for the width of the base.
Solve
for the length of the base.

Step 3: Using the cost per

cm2, find the price of a
rectangular bottle.

Step 1: Write the volume formula

for a cylinder

Step 1: Write the formula for

the surface area of a cylinder

Step 2: Set it equal to the capacity

of the bottle (1000 cm3)

Step 2: Use the dimensions

you found in the second part
of the project and find the
surface area of the cylinder.

Step 3: Solve for the radius of the

base knowing that the height is 20
cm.
Step 3: Using the cost per
cm2, find the price of a
4

cylinder bottle.

Volume
Step 1: Write the volume formula

Surface Area
Step 1: Write the formula for
the surface area

Step 2: Set it equal to the capacity

of the bottle (1000 cm3)
Step 2: Use the dimensions
you found in the second part
of the project and find the
surface area
Step 3: Solve for the side of the
base knowing that the height is 20
cm.
Step 3: Using the cost per
cm2, find the price of a
pyramid-shaped bottle.

Step 1: Write the volume formula

Step 1: Write the formula for

the surface area

Step 2: Set it equal to the capacity

of the bottle (1000 cm3)
Step 2: Use the dimensions
you found in the second part
of the project and find the
surface area
Step 3: Solve for the radius
knowing that the height is 20 cm.

Step 3: Using the cost per

cm2, find the price of a conic
bottle.

Paragraph 1: Introduction
H Hook / I Introduce topic / T Topic / T - Thesis
Paragraph #_______ _______________________________________
T Topic / I Introduce Evidence / E Evidence 1/ D Discussion

H - Hook

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Introduce

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Topic

Topic

- Brief

Thesis
What bottle did you
end up choosing and
why? Explain

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Paragraph : _Your Findings

T Topic / I Introduce Evidence / E Evidence 1/ D Discussion 1/ E Evidence 2 / D Discussion 2/

Topic

How can we solve

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6

the problem

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Introduce

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Evidence
What are the 5
different shapes
you can use?

Evidence

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Discuss

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How did you find

the dimensions of
each shape?

Evidence
Which shape
has the
smallest
surface area?
How much
does it cost
to ship it?