College

A sack of cement weighing 94 lbs is equivalent to 1 cubic foot.

4.97 gallons of water is equivalent to 0.66 cubic feet.

Adding these, 1 cubic foot of cement plus 0.66 cubic feet of water equals 1.66 cubic feet.

Given that the mixture results in 1.15 cubic feet per sack, explain why this is the case.

Answer :

The question appears to pertain to the calculations involved in mixing cement and water to create concrete, a topic commonly associated with engineering, specifically civil engineering.

To understand the "1.15 cuft/sack" calculation, we can break it down step by step.

  1. Sack of Cement Volume: One sack of cement weighs 94 lbs and is measured as 1 cubic foot (cuft).

  2. Water Volume Conversion: You've given that 4.97 gallons of water is equivalent to 0.66 cubic feet. This conversion shows how much space the water will occupy when combined with the cement.

  3. Combining Cement and Water: When you mix the cement (1 cuft) with the water (0.66 cuft), you initially add their volumes:

    [tex]1 \text{ cuft (cement)} + 0.66 \text{ cuft (water)} = 1.66 \text{ cuft}[/tex]

  4. Accounting for Reduction in Volume due to Mixing: However, the volume of freshly mixed concrete is typically less than the sum of its parts. When cement and water are mixed, there is a packing effect, reducing some air spaces and total volume.

  5. Resulting Volume after Mixing: The process may actually result in a volume of about 1.15 cuft of concrete per sack of cement.

This reduction to 1.15 cuft is due to the chemical reaction and consolidation that occurs during mixing, where the particles of cement fill in the spaces between them more efficiently. This is a key aspect of concrete mixture design.

Therefore, the final "1.15 cuft/sack" value represents the efficient use of material and space when cement and water are combined to make concrete.