Final answer:
To find the number of pennies collected, we assumed that each student gave one quarter, one dime, one nickel, and one penny, totaling 41 cents. Dividing the total amount ($16.81) by the contribution of one student ($0.41) gives approximately 41, thus an approximate answer is 41 pennies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks us to determine how many pennies were collected by Mr.Chow's class when each student contributed the same four coins to a total amount of $16.81. To solve this, let us first identify the possible combinations of four coins that add up to the amount each student might have given. The most logical combination that includes pennies would be this: a quarter (25 cents), a dime (10 cents), a nickel (5 cents), and a penny (1 cent), as these are common coins that would total to 41 cents (25+10+5+1).
To find out how many times this combination was given, we divide the total amount collected by the amount from one student: $16.81 ÷ $0.41. We find that this would mean 41 students (which is a number that doesn't fit perfectly, indicating that we should look for another combination; however, let's consider this for the sake of further understanding the approach). Since the number of students must be a whole number, we can round to 41 students where the extra amount can be ignored for the purpose of the exercise.
Knowing that there are 41 repetitions of the four coins, and since each repetition includes only one penny, the answer would be that 41 pennies were collected in total. However, this must be considered an approximation as the total amount doesn't perfectly divide by the contribution of a single student, possibly hinting at a more complex coin combination not explored here or a rounding error.