Question

Does anybody know the answer to the question below?

A cuboid box has dimensions 40 cm by 30 cm by 20 cm. The box is to hold knitting needles. What is the size of the biggest knitting needle the box can hold?

Answer 1

The largest knitting needle that the box can hold would have to fit inside the box diagonally from corner to corner.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can find the diagonal of the box:

d = sqrt(40^2 + 30^2 + 20^2)

d = sqrt(1600 + 900 + 400)

d = sqrt(2900)

d = 53.85 cm (rounded to two decimal places)

Therefore, the largest knitting needle that the box can hold would have a length of 53.85 cm or less.