Question

Matt buys a new fish tank. The fish tank is in the shape of a cuboid. The diagram shows water in the tank. 30 cm 30 cm 100 cm Matt knows 1000 cm' = 1 litre 1 gallons = 4.5 litres He can keep 2 small fish in the tank for every 1 gallon of water in the tank. Matt thinks he can keep more than 36 small fish in the tank. Is Matt correct?​

Answer 1

Answer: Yes, but only if he houses 37, 38, 39, or 40 fish

Anything larger than 40 and he'll need more room.

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Explanation:

The tank is 30 cm by 30 cm by 100 cm. The volume is 30*30*100 = 90,000 cm^3 which is shorthand for "cubic centimeters".

We're told that 1000 cm^3 = 1 liter, which means the 90,000 cm^3 converts to (90,000)/(1000) = 90 liters.

The fish tank is 90 liters.

Since 1 gallon = 4.5 liters, this means the 90 liter tank converts to 90/(4.5) = 20 gallons

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Your teacher mentions "He can keep 2 small fish for every 1 gallon".

Since the tank is 20 gallons, that means he can keep 20*2 = 40 fish. This value is larger than 36, so Matt is correct to a point. If Matt is thinking 37, 38, 39, or 40 fish then he would be correct. If Matt is wanting more than 40 fish, then he'll need a bigger tank.

In short, he can't have any number over 36 and can only have 4 specific values (the four values mentioned earlier).

So technically, Matt is correct, but strong clarification is needed.