1540.71 – Stella's Barbecue

Stella is building a barbecue. It requires 1200 bricks, each is 9" x 2" x 4". A cubic foot of brick weighs 95 pounds.l What will the bricks for Stella's barbecue weigh?

Solution Volume of 1 brick =(34 feet)(16 feet)(13 feet)=124 cubic feet,Volume of 1200 bricks =1200⋅124 cubic feet=50 ft3,Weight of 1200 bricks =50⋅95=4750 pounds. \begin{aligned} \text{Volume of 1 brick } &=& \left( \frac{3}{4} \text{ feet} \right) \left( \frac{1}{6} \text{ feet} \right) \left( \frac{1}{3} \text{ feet} \right) = \frac{1}{24} \text{ cubic feet}, \\ \text{Volume of 1200 bricks } &=& 1200 \cdot \frac{1}{24} \text{ cubic feet} = 50 \text{ ft}^3, \\ \text{Weight of 1200 bricks } &=& 50 \cdot 95 = 4750 \text{ pounds}. \end{aligned}

Stella lives in Amsterdam which uses the metric system. Perhaps a student would like to convert this problem back to its original version in metric units. Or not. The Dutch version of "or not" is "of niet", pronounced "off neet". They say it a lot.