Practice Question: Estimating Volume of an Excavation

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Solution

Answer: B) 3472 cubic yards

Volume of soil can be estimated based on the average end area method:

$$ V_{soil}=\frac{(A_{start}+A_{end})\ast L}{2} $$
where:
$$ L=200\ ft $$
$$ A_{start}=\frac{15\ ft+30\ ft}{2}\ast25\ ft=562.5\ ft^2 $$
$$ A_{end}=\frac{1}{2}\ast30\ ft\ast25\ ft=\ \ 375\ ft^2 $$
$$ V_{soil}=\frac{562.5\ ft^2+375\ ft^2}{2}\ast200\ ft\ast\frac{1\ yd^3}{27\ ft^3}=3472\ yd^3 $$

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