Question

Philippa has 10 metal rods. Each rod is 70 cm long when rounded to the nearest centimeter (cm). She lays out the rods in a straight line, end to end. What is the smallest possible total length, in cm, of the line of rods?

a. 690 cm
b. 700 cm
c. 710 cm
d. 720 cm

Answer 1

To find the smallest possible total length of the line of rods, we need to sum the rounded lengths of the individual rods. Assuming all the rods are rounded down to 69.5 cm, the smallest possible total length would be 695 cm.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the smallest possible total length of the line of rods, we need to find the sum of the rounded lengths of the individual rods. Each rod is rounded to the nearest centimeter, so we can assume that the rods can be either 69.5 cm or 70.5 cm long. Since the question asks for the smallest possible total length, we need to assume that all the rods are rounded down to 69.5 cm.

Therefore, the smallest possible total length of the line of rods is 10 * 69.5 cm, which equals 695 cm.