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AREA and VOLUME. AREA and VOLUME are very useful mathematical concepts, in that
they are necessary for construction and other things. AREA is a quantity that expresses the
extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. For example, it may must be known
the AREA of land being constructed on. This could be necessary for zoning rights and such.
Simple enough: just measure the AREA — usually done by taking a meter stick and/or ruler,
and traversing the perimeter of the AREA being constructed on, measuring along the way. If it
is a rectangular perimeter, only two sides need to be measured, then can be multiplied
together. Misconceptions may occur, if the surface being measured is on a slope. From an
aerial view, it may look like the AREA is different than it actually is, because of the slope. This is
especially problematic if the proposed land-use site is on a cliff. ALWAYS observe firsthand the
AREA you wish to construct on before beginning. VOLUME is used to measure the space inside
a closed surface. It often must be used in construction, to ensure that the VOLUME of the
building being constructed is greater than the amount of stuff desired to be in the building.
However, judgment value must be used in that VOLUME alone does not say whether all of the
stuff could fit in the building; if height and width are not considered, the building could have
enough VOLUME, but not enough height, or width, for the objects to fit. For example, if I
construct an office building that is 15×7×1, the total volume is 105ft3. If I have an office worker
that measures 6×3×9, the office worker clearly has less volume than the office building.
However, the office building is only 1ft tall, and the office worker is 9ft tall. None of the office
worker’s measurements are less than 1ft, therefore, the office worker cannot fit in the office
building. This is where three-dimensional physics models must be used. This fully and
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accurately demonstrates the usefulness but also occasional mind-numbing complexity of…