yvonne12 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?

Total length = 124 * 5 = 620

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.