Sol6

EXAMPLE 2.6.6

Which is larger: a square cake pan that measures 8 inches on each side, or a circular cake pan with a diameter of 9 inches?

SOLUTION

The size of a two-dimensional object corresponds to its area.

The area of the square cake pan is:

Area = Length times Width = (8 inches) times (8 inches) = 64 square inches

The radius of the circular cake pan is 4.5 inches (half of its diameter), so the area of the circular cake pan is:

Area = pi times (radius squared) = pi times (4.5 squared) = 63.26 square inches.

Although the two pans are nearly the same size, the cake pan is slightly larger.