Final answer:
The height of the cake batter in the rectangular cake pan is calculated using the volume of the batter and the area of the base. The volume (1848 cm^3) is divided by the base area (560 cm^2) resulting in an actual height of 3.3 cm, which rounds up to the nearest provided option, 5 cm.
Step-by-step explanation:
Whitney is working on a mathematical problem that involves calculating the height of a cake mix in a right rectangular prism cake pan for baking. We know that the pan is 20 cm wide by 28 cm long and she has used 1848 cm3 of cake batter. To find the height (h) of the batter we use the volume formula for a rectangular prism, which is Volume = length × width × height. Our equation thus becomes 1848 cm3 = 20 cm × 28 cm × h.
First, we calculate the area of the base: 20 cm × 28 cm = 560 cm2. Next, we divide the volume of the batter by the base area to find the height: 1848 cm3 ÷ 560 cm2 = 3.3 cm. This value represents the height of the batter in the cake pan, which means the correct answer from the options provided would be c) 5 cm, as the actual height (3.3 cm) is rounded to the nearest whole centimeter option that could contain the batter without overflowing.