UNIT 8

INTRODUCTION
Social-ContextxtTopicscsCovereded
Garbage generated
Composting
Packaging
Landfills
MathematicalallSkillslsCoverededd
Volume of rectangular solids
Volume of cylinders
Discussion n
The social-context topics in this unit will focus on solid waste—how much we generate
and how to deal with it.
Volume is the most essential mathematical skill in approaching solid waste
management—it would be impossible to understand the solid waste problem without
the concept of volume.
Topik konteks sosial di unit ini akan fokus pada limbah padat — berapa banyak yang kita hasilkan
dan bagaimana menghadapinya.
Volume adalah keterampilan matematika yang paling penting dalam mendekati limbah padat
manajemen — tidak mungkin untuk memahami masalah limbah padat tanpa
konsep volume.
96
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LESSON 8.1: VOLUME OF RECTANGULAR SOLIDS / 97
LESSON 8.1:
VOLUME OF RECTANGULAR SOLIDS
• Teach V = lwh
• Social-context activities (about 40 minutes)
In this lesson we will look closely at our own garbage—how much we generate and where
it goes.
1. A typical garbage bag is 3 feet X 2 feet X IV2 feet. What is its volume?
The average weight of a bag of household garbage is 18 pounds. How many pounds
in each cubic foot?
So for each cubic foot, multiply by 2 to get pounds. Or divide weight in pounds by 2
to get cubic feet.
Complete the table below, calculating the volume of the garbage generated.
Solid Waste Generated in United States
Year
1960
1970
1980
1990
Pounds per Person per Day
2.66
3.27
3.65
4.30
Volume
1.33 cubic feet
Data from Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1994.
2. Discussion. Possible questions include the following:
What has been the trend in amount of garbage generated?
How would you explain the increase?
What are some ways to cut down on the amount of garbage we generate?
3. If you generate 4.3 pounds of garbage per day, how much is that per year? What
would be its volume?
In as close to a cube as possible, what would its dimensions be? Calculate to the
nearest whole number.
Estimate and calculate the volume of your classroom.
How many people would it take to fill the classroom with garbage in a year?
Estimate and calculate the volume of your bedroom. How many years would it take
for you to fill your bedroom with your own garbage?

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4. If you live in Madison, Wisconsin, you live in a city of 380,000 people. If each person
generates 4.3 pounds of garbage per day for a year, what volume of landfill is needed
to hold it?
Household garbage will compress to about half its volume, so then how much space
would you need?
Calculate the dimensions, in feet, of the landfill, if it is as close to a cube as possible.
Adjust those figures, because you cannot dig the landfill more than 30 feet deep, so
one dimension must be 30 feet.
5. Discussion. Possible questions include the following:
Roughly describe the size of the landfill needed for the residents of Madison for one
year.
Do you think you generate 4.3 pounds of garbage each day? What do you throw away?
Think about your share of what the family throws away, what the school throws
away, what restaurants you go to throw away.

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LESSON 8.2: VOLUME OF CYLINDER / 99
LESSON 8.2:
VOLUME OF CYLINDER
• Teach V = 7rr2h
• Social-context activities (about 40 minutes)
Some of the garbage you generate could be composted—placed in conditions where
microbes can break it down to a smaller and more useful (as fertilizer) mass. Much of a city's
garbage could be dealt with in the same way, and many cities are attempting to do so.
The composition of municipal solid waste (and yours, too) is as follows:
Paper
Yard waste
Rubber, textiles, wood
Metal
Glass
Plastic
Food waste
39%
17%
12%
9%
8%
8%
7%
1. You can compost yard waste and food waste. What is the total percentage of those
items?
If you generate 1,570 pounds of garbage per year, how much is compostable?
How many cubic feet of it will you have (i.e., its volume)?
What size of cylindrical compost bin will handle your year's worth of garbage if its
height is 5 feet?
Draw your compost bin, indicating the dimensions (not necessarily to scale).
2. Figure out the diameters of the following cities' compost "bins," if they also compost
24 percent of their solid waste for one day:
V = TI r2h, h = 5 feet

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City
Madison, Wl
New Haven, CT
Independence, MO
Abilene, TX
Washington, DC
Population
195,000
124,000
113,000
108,000
585,000
Pounds
of Waste
per Day
838,500
Compost-
able (24%)
201,240
Volume
(divide
by 2)
100,620
r2 (divide
by 3.14,
then 5) r
6,409
80
d
160
Population figures from Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1994.
3. Discussion. Possible questions include the following:
Do you think composting is a good idea for cities?
Do you know what can be done with the other 76 percent of solid waste—paper,
plastics, glass, metal, rubber, textiles, and wood?
Do you think recycling should be mandated by law?
Do you think composting should be mandated by law?
4. In 1987, a load of garbage was put on a barge in Islip, New York, to go to sea in search
of a landfill space along the coast. It went to North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Mexico, and Belize before returning to New York, undumped. It was a
crisis. What was its volume, put in a cylindrical shape, if it was stacked to a height
of 100 feet and was 200 feet in diameter?
How many pounds did it weigh? (Remember, 1 cubic foot weighs about 2 pounds.)
That's about what it was—actually, it weighed 3,200 tons.
5. Figure out what you should buy, if you are trying to generate a minimum amount of
waste—the two small cans or the one large can, in figure 8.1.
V = 7tr h
Figure 8.1.
First, figure the volumes of all the cans and compare.
If you take apart the metal containers for the two small cans and flatten them, you
get the pieces shown in figure 8.2.

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LESSON 8.2: VOLUME OF CYLINDER / 101
Figure 8.2.
Compute the total metal area by adding the areas of all the pieces together.
Now do the same for the large can in figure 8.3.
Figure 8.3.
Considering efficient use of packaging, which should you buy?
6. Discussion. A possible question is the following:
Besides buying products in larger packages, in what other ways can you minimize
what you throw away?

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UNIT 8 LIBRARY RESEARCH ACTIVITY
(ABOUT 80 MINUTES)
Researchch Questionon
In this activity, all groups will research how landfills are constructed and draw a scale
drawing of a landfill for their selected city, computing all volumes and scales.
Divide into groups of two or three students.
Use the guide to conduct your research.
Assessment ntt
For this activity you will be assessed on the following:
seriousness in approach to library work (10%)
accuracy of mathematical calculations (75%)
quality of final drawing (15%)
From Civic Mathematics.
© 1996. Teacher Ideas Press. (800) 237-6124.

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UNIT 8 LIBRARY RESEARCH GUIDE / 103
UNIT 8 LIBRARY RESEARCH GUIDE
City you will design a landfill for:
Population:
Information needed:
One person generates 4.3 lbs. garbage per day.
One cubic foot of garbage weighs 2 pounds.
V of rectangular solid = lwh
V of cylinder = n r h
71 = 3.14
1 year = 365 days
A landfill is made up of parallel layers, which are as follows, beginning at the bottom:
clay liner, 4 percent of total depth
drainage pipe, 4 percent of total depth
sand, 4 percent of total depth
garbage, 75 percent of total depth
gravel, 4 percent of total depth
clay cap, 4 percent of total depth
topsoil, 5 percent of total depth
1. Calculate the volume of garbage you will get from your city.
2. Notice that the garbage is 75 percent of the landfill, so calculate the total volume the
landfill will need to be.
From Civic Mathematics. © 1996. Teacher Ideas Press. (800) 237-6124.

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3. Using this new volume, calculate the volumes of each of the landfill components.
4. Decide on a scale for your drawing.
5. Calculate the dimensions of the layers of the landfill and the dimensions of the layers
for your drawing.
6. Draw your landfill, labeling layers and dimensions