Question

A shipping box has dimensions as shown in the diagram. The red, dashed line represents the longest length of item that will fit inside the box. What is the length of the longest item that will fit inside the shipping box? Enter the correct answer in the box by replacing the values of m and n.

Answer 1

26.8 in

Explanation:

The red dashed line is the hypotenuse of the right triangle with one leg equal to 24 inches and the other leg equal to 12 inches. Its length is given by the Pythagorean theorem:

space diagonal = √(24^2 +12^2) = √(720) = 12√5

space diagonal ≈ 26.83 . . . inches

The length of the longest item that will fit in the box is about 26.83 inches.