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CHAPTER 3

Basic Calculation

take the challenge!

At the end of this chapter, the students are expected to:
Lesson 1: Perform Farm Basic Workplace Calculation

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LESSON 1:

BASIC WORKPLACE CALCULATIONS

PERFORM CALCULATION
It is important to be able to measure and calculate surface areas. It might be
necessary to calculate, for example, the surface area of the cross-section of a
canal or the surface area of a farm.
This section will discuss the calculation of some of the most common surface
areas: triangle, square, rectangle, rhombus, parallelogram, trapezium and circle.

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The height (h) of a triangle, a rhombus, a parallelogram or a trapezium,

is the distance from a top corner to the opposite side called base (b). The height
is always perpendicular to the base; in other words, the height makes a "right
angle" with the base. An example of a right angle is the corner of this page.

In the case of a square or a rectangle, the expression length (1) is

commonly used instead of base and width (w) instead of height. In the case of a
circle the expression diameter (d) is used.

The height (h), base (b), width (w), length (1) and diameter (d) of the
most common surface areas

TRIANGLES
The surface area or surface (A) of a triangle is calculated by the formula:
A (triangle) = 0.5 x base x height = 0.5 x b x h

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Triangles can have many shapes but the same formula is used for all of them.

SQUARES AND RECTANGLES

The surface area or surface (A) of a square or a rectangle is calculated
by the formula: Area=Length x Width
In a square the lengths of all four sides are equal and all four angles are
right angles. In a rectangle, the lengths of the opposite sides are equal and all
four angles are right angles. All lengths and widths in a square are equal. All
lengths and widths in a rectangle are not equal.

RHOMBUSES AND PARALLELOGRAMS

The surface area or surface (A) of a rhombus or a parallelogram is calculated
by the formula: Area= Base x Height

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In a rhombus the lengths of all four sides are equal; none of the angles are right
angles; opposite sides run parallel. In a parallelogram the lengths of the
opposite sides are equal; none of the angles are right angles; opposite sides run
parallel.

TRAPEZIUMS
The surface area or surface (A) of a trapezium is calculated by the formula:
Area=0.5 (Base+Top) x Height
The top (a) is the side opposite and parallel to the base (b). In a
trapezium only the base and the top run parallel.
Another method to calculate the surface area of a trapezium is to divide
the trapezium into a rectangle and two triangles, to measure their sides and to
determine separately the surface areas of the rectangle and the two triangles.

Splitting a trapezium into one rectangle and two triangles.

Note that A = A1+ A2 + A3 = 1 + 6 + 2 =9 cm2

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CIRCLES
The surface area or surface (A) of a circle is calculated by the formula:
Area=1/4(3.14x d2)
Whereby d is the diameter of the circle and ¶ (a Greek letter,
pronounced Pi) a constant (¶ = 3.14). A diameter (d) is a straight line which
divides the circle in two equal parts.

METRIC CONVERSIONS
The basic unit of length in the metric system is the meter (m). One meter can
be divided into 10 decimeters (dm), 100 centimeters (cm) or 1000 millimeters
(mm); 100 m equals to 1 hectometer (hm); while 1000 m is 1 kilometer (km).

1 m = 10 dm = 100 cm = 1000 mm
0.1 m = 1 dm = 10 cm = 100 mm
0.01 m = 0.1 dm = 1 cm = 10 mm
0.001 m = 0.01 dm = 0.1 cm = 1 mm

1 km = 10 hm = 1000 m
0.1 km = 1 hm = 100 m
0.01 km = 0.1 hm = 10 m
0.01 = 0.01 hm = 1 m

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Units of surface
The basic unit of area in the metric system is the square meter (m),
which is obtained by multiplying a length of 1 meter by a width of 1 meter.
1 Surface Area in Hectare (ha)=100m x 100m= 10 000m2

A square meter

1 m2 = 100 dm2 = 10 000 cm2 = 1 000 000 mm2

0.01 m2 = 1 dm2 = 100 cm2 = 10 000 mm2

0.0001 m2 = 0.01 dm2 = 1 cm2 = 100 mm2
0.000001 m2 = 0.0001 dm2 = 0.01 cm2 = 1 mm2

1 km2 = 100 ha2 = 1 000 000 m2

0.01 km2 = 1 ha2 = 10 000 m2

0.000001 km2 = 0.0001 ha2 = 1 m2

SURFACE AREAS OF CANAL CROSS-SECTIONS AND FARMS

This Section explains how to apply the surface area formulas to two
common practical problems that will often be met in the field.

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DETERMINATION OF THE SURFACE AREAS OF CANAL CROSS-

SECTIONS
The most common shape of a canal cross-section is a trapezium or, more truly,
an "up-side-down" trapezium.

Canal Cross Section

The area (A B C D), hatched on the above drawing, is called the canal
cross-section and has a trapezium shape. Thus, the formula to calculate its
surface is similar to the formula used to calculate the surface area of a
trapezium:
Surface area of the canal cross-section= 0.5 (base + top line) x canal depth
=0.5 (b +a) x h
Whereby:
base (b) = bottom width of the canal
top line (a) = top width of the canal
canal depth (h) = height of the canal (from the bottom of the canal to the top of
the embankment)

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Wettted Cross-Section of a Canal

The area (A B C D), hatched on the above drawing, is called the wetted
canal cross-section or wetted cross-section. It also has a trapezium shape and
the formula to calculate its surface area is:
Surface area of the wetted canal cross-section = 0.5 (base + top line) x water
depth = 0.5 (b + a1) x h1
Whereby:
base (b) = bottom width of the canal
top line (a1) = top width of the water level
water depth (h1) = the height or depth of the water in the canal (from the
bottom of the canal to the water level).

DETERMINATION OF THE SURFACE AREA OF A FARM

It may be necessary to determine the surface area of a farmer's field. For
example, when calculating how much irrigation water should be given to a
certain field, the size of the field must be known.
When the shape of the field is regular and has, for example, a
rectangular shape, it should not be too difficult to calculate the surface area
once the length of the field (that is the base of its regular shape) and the width
of the field have been measured.

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Field of regular shape

Field of irregular shape

In this case, the field should be divided in several regular areas (square,
rectangle, triangle, etc.).

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Division of irregular field into regular areas

Surface area of the square: As = length x width = 30 m x 30 m = 900 m2

Surface area of the rectangle: Ar = length x width = 50 m x 15 m = 750 m2
Surface area of the triangle: At = 0.5 x base x height = 0.5 x 20 m x 30 m = 300
m2
Total surface area of the field: A = As + Ar + At = 900 m2 + 750 m2 + 300 m2 =
1950 m2

INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME
A volume (V) is the content of a body or object. Take for example a
block. A block has a certain length (l), width (w) and height (h). With these
three data, the volume of the block can be calculated using the formula:

V (block) = length x width x height = l x w x h

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UNITS OF VOLUME
The basic unit of volume in the metric system is the cubic meter (m3)
which is obtained by multiplying a length of 1 meter, by a width of 1 meter and
a height of 1 meter.

One cubic meter

1m3 = 1.000 dm3 = 1 000 000 cm3 = 1 000 000 000 mm3
0.001 m3 = 1 dm3 = 1 000 cm3 = 1 000 000 mm3
0.000001 m3 = 0.001 dm3 = 1 cm3 = 1 000 mm3
0.000000001 m3 = 0.000001 dm3 = 0.001 cm3 = 1 mm3

VOLUME OF WATER ON A FIELD

Suppose a one-liter bottle is filled with water. The volume of the water
is 1 liter or 1 dm3. When the bottle of water is emptied on a table, the water will
spread out over the table and form a thin water layer. The amount of water on
the table is the same as the amount of water that was in the bottle.
The volume of water remains the same; only the shape of the "water
body" changes.

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One Liter of water spread over a table

A similar process happens if you spread irrigation water from a storage
reservoir over a farmer's field.

A volume of 100 m3 of water spreas over an area of one hectare

The formula to use is:

As the first step, the volume of water must be calculated. It is the

volume of the filled reservoir, calculated with formula:
Volume (V) = length x width x height = 5 m x 10 m x 2 m = 100 m3
As the second step, the thickness of the water layer is calculated using
formula:

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Given
Surface of the field = 10 000 m2 Volume of water = 100 m3

Formula: d= Volume of Water (m3)

Surface of the Field (m2)

Answer: d= 100 (m3)

10 000 (m2)

d = 0.01 m or d = 10 mm

A water layer 1 mm thick is spread over a field of 1 ha. Calculate the

volume of the water (in m3).

One millimeter water depth on a field of one hectare

The formula to use is:
Volume of water (V) = Surface of the field (A) x Water depth (d)
Given:
Surface of the field = 10 000 m2
Water depth = 1 mm =1/1 000 = 0.001m

Answer:
Formula: Surface of the field (m²) x water depth (m)
Volume (m3) V = 10 000 m2 x 0.001 m
V = 10 m3 or 10 000 liters
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INTRODUCTION TO FLOW-RATE
The flow-rate of a river, or of a canal, is the volume of water discharged
through this river, or this canal, during a given period of time. Related to
irrigation, the volume of water is usually expressed in liters (l) or cubic meters
(m3) and the time in seconds (s) or hours (h). The flow-rate is also called
discharge-rate.

CALCULATION AND UNITS

The water running out of a tap fills a one liter bottle in one second. Thus the
flow rate (Q) is one liter per second (1 l/s).

A flow-rate of one liter per second

PROBLEM
The water supplied by a pump fills a drum of 200 liters in 20 seconds.
What is the flow rate of this pump?

The formula used is: Q= Flow-Rate (l/s)= Volume of Water (liters)

Time (seconds)

Given: Volume of water: 200 L

Time: 20s

Answer: Q= Volume of Water_ =200l= 10 l/s

Time 20s

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The unit "liter per second" is commonly used for small flows, e.g. a tap
or a small ditch. For larger flows, e.g. a river or a main canal, the unit "cubic
metre per second" (m3/s) is more conveniently used.

PROBLEM
A river discharges 100 m3 of water to the sea every 2 seconds. What is
the flow-rate of this river expressed in m3/s?

The formula used is: Q= Flow-Rate (m3/s)= Volume of Water (m3)

Time (seconds)

Given: Volume of water: 100 m3

Time: 2s

Answer: Q= Volume of Water_ =200m3= 50 m3/s

Time 2s

The discharge rate of a pump is often expressed in m3 per hour (m3/h) or

in liters per minute (l/min).

Formula: Q = Flow-Rate (l/min) = Volume of Water (litres)

Time (minutes)
or

Q = Flow-Rate (m3/h) = Volume of Water (m3)

Time (hours)

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INTRODUCTION TO PERCENTAGE
In relation to agriculture, the words percentage will be met regularly.
For instance "60 percent of the total area is irrigated during the dry season". In
this Section the meaning of the word "percentage" will be discussed.

PERCENTAGE
The word "percentage" means literally "per hundred"; in other words
one percent is the one hundredth part of the total. You can either write percent,
or %, or 1/100, or 0.01.

Some examples are:

5 percent = 5% =5/100 = 0.05
20 percent = 20% = 20/100= 0.20
25 percent = 25% = 25/100 = 0.25
50 percent = 50% = 50/100 =0.50
100 percent = 100% = 100/100 = 1
150 percent = 150% = 150/100 = 1.5

QUESTION
How many oranges are in 1% of a total of 300 oranges?

Three oranges are in 1% of 300 oranges

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ANSWER
1% of 300 oranges = 1/100 x 300 = 3 oranges

INTRODUCTION TO GRAPHS
A graph is a drawing in which the relationship between two (or more)
items of information (e.g. time and plant growth) is shown in a symbolic way.
To this end, two lines are drawn at a right angle. The horizontal one is
called the x axis and the vertical one is called the y axis.

Where the x axis and the y axis intersect is the "0" (zero) point.
The plotting of the information on the graph is discussed in the following
examples.

A graph

EXAMPLE 1
Suppose it is necessary to make a graph of the growth rate of a corn
plant. Each week the height of the plant is measured. One week after planting
the seed, the plant measures 2 cm in height, two weeks after planting it
measures 5 cm and 3 weeks after planting the height is 10 cm.

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Measuring the growth rate of a corn plant

These results can be plotted on a graph. The time (in weeks) will be
indicated on the x axis; 2 cm on the axis represents 1 week. The plant height (in
centimeters) will be indicated on the y axis; 1 cm on the axis represents 1 cm of
plant height.
After 1 week the height is 2 cm; this is indicated on the graph with A;
after 2 weeks the height is 5 cm, see B, and after 3 weeks the height is 10 cm,
see C.
At planting (Time = 0) the height was zero, see D.

Now connect the crosses with a straight line. The line indicates the
growth rate of the plant; this is the height increase over time.

It can be seen from the graph that the plant is growing faster and faster
(during the first week 2 cm and during the third week 5 cm); the line from B to
C is steeper than the line from D to A.

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Graph of the growth rate of a corn plant

From the graph can be read what the height of the plant was after, say 2
1/2 weeks; see the dotted line. Locate on the horizontal axis 2 1/2 weeks and
follow the dotted line upwards until the dotted line crosses the graph. From this
crossing follow the dotted line to the left until the vertical axis is reached. Now
take the reading: 7.5 cm, which means that the plant had a height of 7.5 cm
after 2 1/2 weeks. This height has not been measured in reality, but with the
graph the height can be determined anyway.
QUESTION
What was the height of the plant after 1 1/2 weeks?
ANSWER
The height of the plant after 1 1/2 weeks was 3.5 cm.

EXAMPLE 2
Another example to illustrate how a graph should be made is the
variation of the temperature over one full day (24 hours). Suppose the outside
temperature (always in the shade) is measured, with a thermometer, every two
hours, starting at midnight and ending the following midnight.
Suppose the following results are found:

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Time(hr) Temperature(°C)
0 16
2 13
4 6
6 8
8 13
10 19
12 24
14 28
16 2
18 27
20 22
22 19
24 16

Graph showing temperature over 24 hours; mistake 16 hour reading

On the x axis indicate the time in hours, whereby 1 cm on the graph is 2

hours. On the y axis indicate the temperature in degrees Celsius (°C), whereby
1 cm on the graph is 5°C.
Now indicate (with crosses) the values from the table (above) on the
graph paper and connect the crosses with straight dotted lines.

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Graph showing temperature over 24 hours; estimated correction of mistake

At this stage, if you look attentively at the graph, you will note that there
is a very abrupt change in its shape around the sixteenth hour. The outside
temperature seems to have fallen from 28°C to 2°C in two hours‘ time! That
does not make sense, and the reading of the thermometer at the sixteenth hour
must have been wrong. This cross cannot be taken in consideration for the
graph and should be rejected. The only dotted line we can accept is the straight
one in between the reading at the fourteenth hour and the reading at the
eighteenth hour.

Graph showing temperature over 24 hours; smooth curve

In reality the temperature will change more gradually than indicated by

the dotted line; that is why a smooth curve is made (continuous line). The

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smooth curve represents the most realistic approximation of the temperature

over 24 hours.
From the graph it can be seen that the minimum or lowest temperature
was reached around 4 o'clock in the morning and was about 6°C. The highest
temperature was reached at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and was approximately
29°C.

QUESTION
What was the temperature at 7, 15 and 23 hours? (Always use the smooth curve
to take the readings).
ANSWER
Temperature at 7 hours: 10°C
Temperature at 15 hours: 29°C
Temperature at 23 hours: 17°C

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