5 pieces of wood have an average length of 124 centimeter and a median length of 140 centimeter. what is the maximum possible length in centimeters of the shortest piece of wood?
Total length = 124 * 5 = 620yvonne12 wrote:5 pieces of wood have an average length of 124 centimeter and a median length of 140 centimeter. what is the maximum possible length in centimeters of the shortest piece of wood?
Lets call the sequence (of wood in increasing order of length) as
a b c d e
We know c = 140 (median)
We are asked to find maximum possible length for a.
Max value for 'a' is when c = d = e = median = 140 (this is because
any increase in value for d and e beyond 140 will lead to a shorter value
for a)
So, revised sequence is "a b 140 140 140"
a + b = 620 - (140*3) = 200
Highest possible value for a is when a = b = 100.
If we want to be a stickler about the word "shortest" i.e. referring to
one and only 1 possible piece of wood, then a = 99 (and b = 101).
What are the answer choices.
