Personal code: jgc916

WHAT SHAPE OF BOX IS BEST FOR STORAGE?

IBDP MATHEMATICS

APPLICATION & INTERPRETATION SL – EXPLORATION

PERSONAL CODE: jgc916

EXAMINATION SESSION : MAY 2023

Research Question: Why square or cuboidal shape containers are used for
storing or organising purposes and if there is a better substitute ?

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INTRODUCTION AND RATIONALE

I've always been fascinated by how mathematics is used in everyday life. I'm frequently

inspired to understand how to realistically apply the ideas I've studied in the classroom to my

everyday life. I recently found something that not only I could use to explain the illusive uses

of mathematics in the world, but was also highly relevant: storing and organising things

without wasting space. This discovery made me really excited.

Whether I'm bored or see a disorganised setting, I tend to become more organised. I've taken

a lot of breaks from my work schedule to organise my books and art supplies in the cupboard

to improve appearance and make it easier for me to find the items. Yes, organising my

belongings in a cupboard and keeping them in various boxes helps me work through some

critical problems.

Since organising and storing are daily activities for me, I have developed a system for doing

both. I've always required that the storage containers and even the items being stored be clean

because I'm the quiet cleaning enthusiast. When the pandemic hit when I was in my tenth

grade, things changed. It was really challenging for me to find the art equipment I needed at

the time because I needed to create a lot of artwork for my school assignment.

I made an effort to organise my art supplies as neatly as possible, but I soon realised that

neither my mother nor I ever use anything other than cuboidal-shaped boxes or containers. I

figured it would be wonderful to strengthen the connection between my favourite time of the

day and mathematics in order to tackle this problem as I use containers or boxes to answer

my maths difficulties.

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The surface area and volume of the container or box are important factors when organising

and storing materials. I need to fill various shapes of boxes with roughly the same quantity of

supplies and test them to see which one uses the most of the materials and the least amount of

space. My friends' desire to organise their belongings while also making it look fancy with

various box forms, is taken into account in this investigation. It would be large enough for all

the stuff and I could utilise maths to make it spacious.

To put it in other words, I'll examine which box or container shape works best for storing

items. This will enable us to store as much as we can while utilising the materials we actually

need to store on a daily basis and wasting the least amount of container space.

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AIM AND APPROACH

The objective of this research is to determine, using the concepts of surface area and volume,

which shape of container is suitable for storing stuff, as stated in the introduction. This

investigation will focus on how much of a given material can be fitted into a given surface

area and volume. A: Aim seen

I certainly needed to get first-hand information by conducting an experiment because I

wanted the boxes to match the circumstances in which I often arrange my products in boxes.

Due to the fact that everyone arranges their supplies differently, there is no secondary data

accessible.

I made the decision to address the issue by determining whether there is an equation that can

be used to define the link between a container's shape and the amount of material it can hold.

I would need to start by drawing a graph for each quantity carried by each box form.

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DATA COLLECTION & RESULTS

I used cuboid-shaped boxes for my exploration experiment and cylindrical-shaped boxes as a

stand-in shape. I took measurements of the surfaces of various boxes, but I very much used

the same measurements for two different box shapes so that they could be compared without
C: personal
any change. engagement seen
through self
experiment
I organised some paints as my art material in a box. This simply illustrates how many stuff

one box can hold without being cluttered or chaotic.

I measured each box by myself and estimated its surface area and volume to determine how

much material it could hold and how much room it would take up when organised in a drawer

or cabinet.

SAMPLE – 1
Cylinder box

Volume : 𝝅𝒓𝟐 𝒉
r = radius. h= height
E: very basic
= π × 52 × 11
mathematics used
= π × 25 × 11
= π × 275
≈ 864 cm3

Surface Area : 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝒉 + 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝟐

r = radius. h= height
= 2 × π × 5 × 11 + 2 × π × 52
= 110 × π + 50 × π
= 345.57 + 157.07
≈ 503 cm2
Fig 1 – Paints organised in cylinder box of volume 864 cm3
Source : SELF - CLICKED

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Cuboid box

Volume : 𝒍 × 𝒘 × 𝒉
l = length. w = width. h = height
= 15 × 10.4 × 5.5
≈ 858 cm3

Surface area : 2 × ( 𝒍𝒘 + 𝒍𝒉 + 𝒉𝒘 )
l = length. w = width. h = height
𝑙 = 15cm 𝑤 = 10.4cm ℎ = 5.5cm
= 2 (15 × 10.4 + 10.4 × 5.5 + 5.5 × 15)
= 2 (26 + 97.5 + 165)
= 2 × 288.5
≈ 577 cm2

Fig 2 & 3 – paints organised in cuboid box of volume 858 𝑐𝑚3 ( two different angles )
Source : SELF - CLICKED

Table for comparison of Sample 1

Cylinder Box - 1 Cuboid box - 1
Radius 5 -
Height 11 5.5
Length - 15
Width - 10.4
Volume 864 cm3 858 cm3
Surface Area – 1 box 503 cm2 577 cm2
Surface Area of 5 box positioned in most 2515 cm2 2885 cm2
compacted way
No. of pieces fit 14 16
Best option

Therefore, in sample 1 CUBOID is the better option as it can store more pieces than
cylindrical box but also covers more space.

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SAMPLE – 2

Cylinder box

Volume : 𝝅𝒓𝟐 𝒉
r = radius. h = height
= π × 42 × 9
= π × 144
≈ 452 cm3

Surface area : 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝒉 + 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝟐

r = radius. h= height
= 2 × π × 4 × 9 + 2 × π × 42
= 38 × π + 32 × π
= 226.19 + 100.53
≈ 327 cm2
Fig 4 – paints organised in cylinder box of volume 452 𝑐𝑚3
Source : SELF - CLICKED

Cuboidal box

Volume : 𝒍 × 𝒘 × 𝒉
l = length. w = width. h = height
= 15 × 8 × 4
≈ 480 cm3

Surface area : 2 × ( 𝒍𝒘 + 𝒍𝒉 + 𝒉𝒘 )
l = length. w = width. h = height
l = 15cm w = 8cm h = 4cm
= 2 (15 × 8 + 8 × 4 + 4 × 15)
= 2 (120 + 32 + 60)
= 2 × 212
≈ 424 cm2
Fig 5 – paints organised in cuboid box of volume 480 𝑐𝑚3
Source : SELF - CLICKED

Table for comparison of Sample 2

Cylinder Box - 2 Cuboid box - 2
Radius 4 -
Height 9 4
Length - 15
Width - 8
Volume 452 cm3 480 cm3
Surface Area – 1 box 327 cm2 424 cm2
Surface Area of 5 box positioned in most 1635 cm2 2120 cm2
compacted way

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No. of pieces fit 8 9

Best option

Therefore, in sample 2 CUBOID is the better option as it can store more pieces than
cylindrical box but also covers more space.

SAMPLE – 3

Cylinder box

Volume : 𝝅𝒓𝟐 𝒉
r = radius. h= height
= π × 4.52 × 10.5
= π × 212.6
≈ 668 cm3

Surface area : 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝒉 + 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝟐

r = radius. h= height
= 2 × π × 4.5 × 10.5 + 2 × π × 4.52
= 94.5 × π + 40.5 × π
= 296.88 + 127.23
≈ 424 cm2

Fig 6 – paints organised in cylinder box of volume 668 𝑐𝑚3

Source : SELF - CLICKED

Cuboidal box

Volume : 𝒍 × 𝒘 × 𝒉
l = length. w = width. h = height
= 17 × 10 × 4
= 680 cm3

Surface area : 2 × ( 𝒍𝒘 + 𝒍𝒉 + 𝒉𝒘 )
l = length. w = width. h = height
l = 17cm w = 10cm h = 4cm
= 2 (17 × 10 + 10 × 4 + 4 × 17)
= 2 (170 + 140 + 68)
= 2 × 278
= 556 cm2

Fig 7 & 8 – paints organised in cuboid box of volume 680 𝑐𝑚3 ( two different angles )
Source : SELF – CLICKED

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Table for comparison of Sample 3

Cylinder Box - 3 Cuboid box - 3
Radius 4.5 -
Height 10.5 4
Length - 17
Width - 10
Volume 668 cm3 680 cm3
Surface Area – 1 box 424 cm2 556 cm2
Surface Area of 5 box positioned in most 2120 cm2 2780 cm2
compacted way
No. of pieces fit 10 16
Best option

Therefore, in sample 3 CUBOID is the better option as it can store more pieces than
cylindrical box but also covers more space.

SAMPLE – 4

Cylinder box

Volume : 𝝅𝒓𝟐 𝒉
r = radius. h = height
= π × 6.52 × 7
= π × 295.7
≈ 929 cm3

Surface area : 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝒉 + 𝟐𝝅𝒓𝟐

r = radius. h= height
= 2 × π × 6.5 × 7 + 2 × π × 6.52
= 91 × π + 84.5 × π
= 285.88 + 265.46
≈ 551 cm2
Fig 9 – paints organised in cylinder box of volume 929 𝑐𝑚3
Source : SELF - CLICKED

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Cuboidal box

Volume : 𝒍 × 𝒘 × 𝒉
l = length. w = width. h = height
= 16 × 6 × 3
= 288 cm3

Surface area : 2 × ( 𝒍𝒘 + 𝒍𝒉 + 𝒉𝒘 )
l = length. w = width. h = height
l = 16cm w = 6cm h = 3cm
= 2 (16 × 6 + 6 × 3 + 3 × 16)
= 2 (96 + 18 + 48)
= 2 × 162
= 324 cm2
Fig 10 – paints organised in cuboid box of volume 288 𝑐𝑚3
Source : SELF - CLICKED

Table for comparison of Sample 4

Cylinder Box - 4 Cuboid box - 4
Radius 6.5 -
Height 7 3
Length - 16
Width - 6
Volume 929 cm3 288cm3
Surface Area – 1 box 551 cm2 324 cm2
Surface Area of 5 box positioned in most 2755 cm2 1620 cm2
compacted way
No. of pieces fit 11 10
Best option

Therefore, in sample 4 CYLINDER is the better option as it can store more pieces than
cuboid box but also covers more space.

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ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION

To compare the amount of space needed for each box, the number of paints it can hold, and

the space needed for the same 5 boxes. In this investigation, I made use of the concepts of

surface area and volume. This would enable the storage interpretation to be as it was and to

be as it is.

According to the findings, even if the items that were chosen to be stored within the boxes are

cylindrical in shape, cuboidal boxes do take up somewhat more room than cylindrical boxes

while also holding more items ( paint bottles ).

Only in the last scenario can we see that a box with a cylindrical shape can hold a greater

volume of items since it has more space than a box with a cuboid shape.

The following formula calculates the surface area of a cylinder: r = radius h = height

Radius equals radius in the cylindrical volume formula, and height equals height.

The cuboid surface's formula is: l = length, w = width, and h = height.

l is for length in the cuboid volume formula. w stands for width, and h for height.

Therefore, I believe that this research and experiment will benefit everyone in the future and

may be successful and beneficial, especially for someone who likes organisation like I do and

properly organises all of their belongings.

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REFLECTION

During my journey, I selected a topic and began working on it. Everything was going

according to plan, but a few days before the first draught was due, Miss instructed me to

change the topic of my IA because another student in my class was working on a related

issue. "Strategies to win at tic tac toe" was the subject I had earlier.

I became really anxious since I had to choose a new topic and begin working on it. I also

found it challenging to handle because I had wasted a lot of time.

I missed the first draft deadline and was unable to finish the first draft because I was unable

to finish my IA in a timely manner. Due to time management issues and other academic

requirements, I was unable to finish the IA before the first draft deadline.

As I also had to complete my other subject IAs, I was able to finish the entire experiment in

two days, including recording the results. After gathering and analysing the data, I discovered

that my interpretation for this investigation was accurate and that cuboidal boxes are a better

option for storing items. D: some reflection

seen

This research will be useful not just to me but to everyone in the future since everyone needs

to properly organise and store their belongings to make utilising and locating certain items

simple for the user. Everyone desires that the items they organise take up the least amount of

space and leave some empty space so the area does not appear overcrowded.

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