The height of the cone is 9 cm, and the angle at the apex of the axial section is 60 degrees. Find the volume of the cone.
The volume of the cone is calculated using the following formula:
V = 1 / 3πR²H, where R is the radius of the base of the cone, H is the height of the cone.
Consider a triangle, which is formed by the height, radius and generatrix of the cone. This triangle is rectangular. The generatrix is the hypotenuse in it. The angle between the generatrix and the height is equal to half the angle at the apex of the cone. Let’s find it:
60º / 2 = 30º.
As you know, in a right-angled triangle opposite an angle of 30º lies a leg equal to half of the hypotenuse, that is, the radius is equal to half of the generatrix. We denote the radius as x, then the Pythagorean theorem for a given triangle can be written as follows:
(2x) ² = x² + 9².
Let’s solve this equation:
(2x) ² = x² + 9²,
4x² – x² = 81,
3x² = 81,
x² = 81/3,
x² = 27,
x1,2 = ± √27,
x1,2 = ± 3√3.
In this case, only a positive value is needed, that is, the radius of the base is 3√3 cm.Now we will find the volume of the cone:
V = 1/3 * π * (3√3) ² * 9 = 3 * 27 * π = 81π ≈ 254.47 cm³.
Answer: the volume of the cone is approximately equal to 254.47 cm³.