Question

Find the difference in the volume of air between a men's basketball with a diameter of 9.4 inches and women's basketball with a diameter of 9.07 inches. Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a cubic inch.

Answer 1

Given a sphere with diameter, d, the volume, V, of the spere is given by

$V=\frac{\pi d^3}{6}$

Take

$\pi\approx3.14$$\begin{gathered} \text{therefore,} \\ V=\frac{3.14d^3}{6} \end{gathered}$

A basketball is a sphere.

For the men's basketball,

d = 9.4 and

$V=\frac{3.14(9.4)^3}{6}\approx434.7\text{inches}^3$

For women's basketball,

$V=\frac{3.14(9.07)^3}{6}\approx390.5inches^3$

Therefore,

the difference = 434.7 - 390.5 = 44.2 cubic inches