Minimum Exterior Surface Area for a Given Volume of a Room-Size Building

by Carolina Zapata

Submitted : Fall 2013

In this investigation, I was to find the minimum amount of material that can be used to build the exterior of a building of a given volume. I tested a number of ideal values for a building and once I determined a small number I kept working until I found the minimum value. All the values were plugged into the surface area equation to help determine this value. The minimum value determined was 1104.86 square feet for the surface area with a length of 13.51ft., width of 13.6ft., and height of 13.6ft. These values resulted in the least amount of material needed for a space with a volume of 2500 cubed feet.

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