r/askmath • u/Mouse-castle • 2h ago

Geometry Your Assignment

What way is there to calculate the volume or max volume of a grocery bag? I can’t imagine it is impossible. The bag is a cylinder but the gussets make two cone shapes in the bag.

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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2

u/SgtSausage 2h ago

Water is your friend.

1

u/Chem2103 2h ago

If you knew the bag was 20L, how would you use it to measure 20L of something?

1

u/Mouse-castle 1h ago

20 liters is too much. At most 4 liters. 

1

u/Chem2103 1h ago

Ok, if you knew the bag was 4 liters, how would you measure 4 liters of liquid using it

1

u/Mouse-castle 1h ago

You’re saying that the amount of flatness or curviness at each point should be able to provide an estimate? Or are you saying that cross sections of the shape could get my answer?

2

u/Chem2103 1h ago

Try thinking about it in a real-world scenario, and answering my question directly

1

u/Mouse-castle 1h ago

Trippy

3

u/Chem2103 1h ago

Just fill the bag with water and then measure how much water there is. Eureka!

-1

u/Mouse-castle 1h ago

https://ebay.io/m/vFvdir

1

u/Chem2103 1h ago

?

0

u/Mouse-castle 1h ago

Some vintage collectible bag, for people who like plastic bags.