Many types of sports balls — tennis, racquetball, wiffle balls to name a few — are packed in cylindrical cans, and since the balls are round, a lot of empty space is left in the can. How much space? Suppose that one type of ball has a radius of 3.3cm, and the can has the same inside radius for a nice snug fit. To accommodate 4 balls, the can’s height is 8 times the radius of each ball, which makes it 26.4cm.
The calculation below is intended to find the volume of empty space in the can, but there’s something wrong with it. Find the fix needed to correct the mistake in the calculation. Then use the corrected formula to find the volume of empty space in the can. (If you need help, an Internet search for “volume of a sphere” might help.)
