Solid of Revolution

Answers
TI-Nspire™ Activity Student 60 min
7 8 9 10 11 12

Introduction
A liquid flows into an irregular shaped vase at a constant rate, is it possible to
describe the changing height of the fluid using mathematics? In this investigation
you will collect data for the height of the liquid at various times, produce
mathematical equations to model these rates and changes, determine an equation
for the volume of the liquid at any height h, and finally, produce a 3D model of the
vase! The 3D model will be dynamic, meaning you will be able to rotate it in any
direction.

Equipment
 YouTube video:
 TI-Nspire Calculator
 TI-Nspire file: Solid

Filling the Vase

Question: 1.
Imagine the vase pictured above is being filled at a constant rate to a depth
of 20cm (as shown). If this process takes 90 seconds, sketch a graph of the
height versus time.
Answers will vary. This question can be used to help gauge student’s prior
knowledge / understanding of rates.
Note: The “Fill the Vase” activity on the Senior Nspired Curriculum site is a good prerequisite activity.

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 Solid of Revolution 2

Open the TI-Nspire Solids of Revolution file. Read through the

instructions on Page 1.1 then navigate to the spreadsheet on
page 1.2 then watch the YouTube video:

Related Rates and Solid of Revolution

http://bit.ly/JugFilling

Enter the data on page 1.2 (Spreadsheet).

Graph your data on page 1.3 of the document.

Although it was the height that was used to determine the time
interval, this was due to practical limitations. Time will be
plotted on the independent axis and height on the dependent.

Question: 2.
Relate key features of the graph to the shape of the vase including a comparison of your sketch graph
with the one obtained from the video.
If the video is done as a class, all students should have
the same results, sample shown opposite.

Key Features:

 Wide regions of vase correspond to smaller

gradient on sketched function and data.
 Narrow regions of vase correspond to steeper
gradient on sketched function and data.
 Transitions between each region should be
smooth (student sketch).

Volume of the Vase

Note: Make sure your document settings have Float = 5 or 6. Due to the practical nature of the questions
in this section, calculations need a high level of accuracy in order to model the shape of the vase.

Navigate to page 1.4 where a picture of the vase is shown. The

aim here is to develop an equation to model the shape of the
vase. A cubic function can provide an approximate model.

Four points P, Q, R and S have been plotted and their

coordinates stored:

P : ( x1 , y1 ) , Q : ( x2 , y2 ) , R : ( x3 , y3 ) & S : ( x4 , y4 )
P : (1,3) , Q : (6,5.5) , R : (12,3.5) & S : (19,3)

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 Solid of Revolution 3

The [VAR] key can be used to recall stored variables. This is a very useful way of recalling
values stored on other pages within the same problem.

Question: 3.
Determine the equation for a cubic passing through points P, Q, R and S. Graph it on the same page
and discuss how well it fits the shape of the vase.
Important: Define your equation as: f ( x)

f ( x)  0.00533x3  0.177 x2  1.510x  1.662

Graph is a relatively good fit. The base of the vase
shows a small error, so too the sharper curves where
the vase narrows. Most significantly the function is a
very poor model beyond the 20cm ‘depth’ of the vase.
Note:
Students can use the stored variables: x1 , x2 … to
determine the equation. The parameters {a, b, c, d} are
initially displayed with limited accuracy, copying and
pasting the result provides for more accuracy and
makes it easier to store each.
Example: a : = 0.005328
Question: 4.
Explain why the vase is easier to model when tipped on its side.
Placing the vase on its side means a polynomial can be used to model the curve. If the vase was
placed vertically on the axis it would not be a function, it would have a one to many mapping.
The theoretical volume of the vase can be
determined by rotating the function around
the x- axis.

V    f ( x)2 dx

The actual volume of the vase is 1 litre when

filled to a depth of 20cm, the amount shown
in the original picture.

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 Solid of Revolution 4

Question: 5.
Use the calculator (CAS) to determine the volume of the vase when filled to a depth of 20cm by
rotating the function obtained in Question 3 around the x axis. Discuss the accuracy of the result.

v    f ( x)2 dx  999
20

This result compares favourably with the actual… 1000cm3 = 1000 ml = 1 litre.
Question: 6.
Use the calculator (CAS) to determine an expression for the volume of liquid in the vase as a function
of height (h).
Define this function as v(h)

v(h)  1.274 105 h  (h6  77.51h5  2338h4  31855h3  139017h2  618705h  680998)

Question: 7.
According to the function: v(h) , what would be the height of the liquid in the vase when it is half
full? (500ml). Compare this answer with the data collected in Question 1.
solve(v(h)  500, h) This produces a result of h = 7.28 which compares favourably with the data.
Since the volume is changing at a constant rate, the vase should be half full when half the time has
expired. Total time to fill vase: 90 seconds, which of course means the vase should be half full at 45s.
The data shows that h  7cm when t  44s. When h  8cm, t  51s so it follows that at t = 45s the
height will be between 7cm and 8cm… but closer to 7cm, as predicted from the equation solution.

Related Rates
The aim of this section is to determine a rule that describes the rate at which the height of the liquid is
changing. The data collected in Question one is a record of the height at some time t. A visual inspection of
this data combined with knowledge regarding the shape of the vase can produce answers to questions such
as: “When is the height of the liquid changing most rapidly?” It is however possible to determine a rule for
this rate.

Consider the following:

dh dh dv dv This can be determined from information provided and collected

   constant already.
dt dv dt dt

dh dv
This can be determined as the reciprocal of
dv dh

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 Solid of Revolution 5

Question: 8.
dh
Determine a rule for: and hence where the height is increasing at a maximum rate. Note: The
dt
rate can be in terms of the height of the liquid h.
Using time taken to fill the 1 litre vase is 90 seconds (from video)…

dv 1000 100 3 1
  cm s
dt 90 9
dv
 8.918h6  0.005925h5  0.1490h4 1.623h3  5.313h2  15.77 h  8.676
dh
dh 100

dt 9 8.918h  0.005925h  0.1490h4  1.623h3  5.313h2  15.77 h  8.676 
6 5

d 2h
0 when h  -0.984 or h  5.77 or h  16.4
dt 2
Since h > 0, h = -0.984 is not a solution. When h = 5.77 the height of the liquid is changing at the
slowest rate (can use vase to support ) so when h = 16.4 the height of the liquid is changing at the
maximum rate… which aligns very well with the narrowest part of the vase.
A function relating the height of the liquid and time can be determined by considering the following:

dv
 constant v(t )   constant dt This can be determined from information provided and
dt collected already.

In Question 6 a rule was established for the volume in terms of the height. The information above can be
used to determine a relationship between volume and time.

Question: 9.
Write a rule relating height and time and define this rule as t (h) and discuss how well the function
models the data. (See below)

dv 1000 100t
Since  constant and v = 0 when t = 0, then v   dt 
dt 90 9
From Q 6: v  1.274 105 h  (h6  77.51h5  2338h4  31855h3  139017h2  618705h  680998)

Then: t (h)  1.147 106 h  (h6  77.51h5  2338h4  31855h3  139017h2  618705h  680998)

The graph of t (h) is very close to all the data points. Small
deviations can be attributed to measurement errors from the
video and the approximation of the curve to the vase… all
things considered … this is a very good match.

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 Solid of Revolution 6

The rule defines the time in terms of the variable height, do not try and transpose the equation to
obtain height in terms of time. The function can be validated using the instructions below.
Navigate back to page 1.3 and swap the axis… placing height on
the horizontal (independent) axis and time on the vertical axis.

From the Analyse menu select Plot Function.

For the function enter: t ( x)

Note: The calculator plots functions in terms of x.

Extension – Drawing the 3D Vase

Teacher notes: This section of the investigation does not require students to complete any ‘questions’ and
is completed for ‘interest’ sake. Most students however like the 3D model. At least one school has used
their 3D printer to produce a replica of a solid of revolution… now that’s cool!
With equations relating to the vase validated, it is now possible to reproduce a 3D model of the vase on the
calculator, a model that can be rotated and observed from any angle!
Insert a Graph application into the document.

Change the View to 3D Graphing.

Change the 3D Graph Entry option to Parametric.

To get a better view of the vase it is also worth hiding the ‘box’
that is displayed by default. To hide the box, use the View
menu.

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 Solid of Revolution 7

To view the entire vase the window settings need to be

changed, there will be three sets of settings… as you will be
viewing the vase in 3D.

From the Range/Zoom menu select Range Settings. The

following settings are important:
Xmin = -8 Xmax = 8
Ymin = -8 Ymax = 8
Zmin = -1 Zmax = 21
Note: Zoom in/out are different than
Notice also in this menu, short cuts for zoom in / out are
the windows settings… try it once the
available by pressing  to zoom in and  to zoom out. vase is on the screen.
From the 3D graph screen, press [TAB] to access the equation
entry lines. Three equations are entered and two parameters
are used.

The rule that describes the shape of the vase is entered in both
the x and y direction. This is achieved by using: f (t ) to recall
the rule for the shape of the vase defined in Question 3.

The expressions sin(u ) and cos(u ) rotate the curve around

the axis and the t in zp1 extends the graph along the z axis.

To see the entire vase the domain for the parameters u and t
must be set. The parameter dialog box can be accessed by
using the touchpad or by press [TAB] from the equation entry
followed by [ENTER].

Adjust the settings as shown opposite. The value of t

represents the minimum and maximum values for the height.
The values for u represent the rotation achieved by the two
functions sin(u ) and cos(u ) , therefore Umax = 2.

Your vase is ready!

To see how the original equation is rotated around the axis to

form this solid of revolution, edit the equations as follows:

xp1 f (t )  sin(n  u)
yp1 f (t )  cos(n  u)
zp1 t

Use the Actions menu Insert a Slider (settings shown opposite),

select okay and then vary the slider.

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 Solid of Revolution 8

The completed 3D vase… students can change the view, remove the wire
effect, change colour… and most importantly, rotate the graph (vase) so
that it is visible from all angles.

Animate the slider to watch

the jug form, the visual helps
students in their
understanding of solids of
revolution.

 Texas Instruments 2016. You may copy, communicate and modify this material for non-commercial educational purposes Author: P. Fox
provided all acknowledgements associated with this material are maintained.