Answer:
The candles were 4.19 inches apart.
Explanation:
In order to solve this problem we first need to calculate the length of the circle that surrounds the cake. Since it has a diameter of 12 inches, then it's length is given by:
length = 2*pi*r = 2*pi*(12/2) = 37.68 inches
Since there were 9 candles and they were distributed across the edge of the cake in equal spaces, then we need to take the length of the circle and divide it by the number of candles. We have:
space = length / candles = 37.68 / 9 = 4.19 inches
The candles were 4.19 inches apart.