Project : The Polo Thesis

Case Study: 02/001

Purpose of experiment

The following analysis was to verify whether a polo mint has greater surface area than a mint with identical dimensions but no hole.

Equipment

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Bunsen burner	Tripod	Gauze mat	Test tube	Polo mint

Method

1. Place the bunsen burner under the tripod with the gauze mat on the top.
2. Put the polo mint in the test tube.
3. Ignite the bunsen burner.
4. Record the findings.

• r is the radius of the mint
• p is the radius of the hole
• h is the height of the mint:

The surface area of a solid mint equals 2 prr.
The surface area of the polo mint equals 2 prr + 2 prh - 2 ppp + 2 pph.

Therefore the difference in the surface area equals (2 prr + 2 prh) - (2 prr + 2 prh - 2 ppp + 2 pph)
which equals -2 ppp + 2 pph
which equals h - p.

Therefore, if the height of the polo is greater than the radius of the hole, then the surface area of the polo is greater than the surface area of a solid mint with identical dimensions but no hole.

Results

The results are inconclusive.

Conclusions

The problem cannot be resolved by analysis alone. Measurements of the radius of the hole and height of a polo mint are required before results can be verified. This falls outside the scope of this project.