Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
In addition to understanding the above terminology used in this chapter for mea-
surements of circumference, area, and volume, it is also important to have a strategy
for solving these types of problems as explained in the following:
•
Always read the problem, disregard the numbers. Ask yourself: What type
of problem is it? What am I asked to find?
•
If a diagram is provided, refer to it. If there isn't one, draw a rough one to
refer to (see Figure 11.1 for an example).
•
What exactly do I need to know to solve the problem; that is, how is the
information presented in the statement of the problem?
•
Write out everything that is known about the problem in one column and
place the unknown in another column.
•
Identify the correct formula and plug in the numbers and solve.
•
Work out the problem.
•
Check the answer; does it make sense? Make sure the measurements agree.
If the diameter of a pipe is given in inches, then change the inches to feet;
if the flow is in MGD and you need a value in feet or feet/sec, then change
MGD to ft
3
/sec.
Let's look at Example 11.1, where we put the steps listed above to work to solve an
area problem.
■
Example 11.1
Problem
: A water storage basin is 30 ft in length and 45 ft in width. What is the area
of the basin in square feet? (Refer to Figure 11.1.)
Solution:
Known
Length = 30 ft
Width = 45 ft
Unknown
Area = ?
Area = Length × Width = 30 ft × 45 ft = 1350 ft
2
45 ft
30 ft
FIGURE 11.1
Illustration for Example 11.1.
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