length of metal rod

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length of metal rod

by GmatKiss » Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:52 pm
A length of metal rod is to be cut and packed into a rectangular box of fixed dimensions. If the diameter is negligible, what is the longest section of rod that can be placed in the box?

(1) The box is 20 inches long and 12 wide.

(2) The volume of the box is 1200 cubic inches.
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by edge » Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:56 pm
C is the answer.

St1 doesn't tell us anything about the height of the box, which you need to calculate the maximum length of the rod that will fit when placed diagonally along the length, width and height of the box.
St2 doesn't tell us the dimensions of the box, just the volume.

From the two statements taken together, you can deduce the height of the box and therefore, the maximum allowable length of the rod.

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by maihuna » Sat Aug 06, 2011 12:56 pm
C: to determine longest rod we need to know l b h i.e. sqrt of (l^2+b^2+h^2)

combining 1 and 2 : lbh = 1200, l and b are known rom 1, so h can be computed. C
GmatKiss wrote:A length of metal rod is to be cut and packed into a rectangular box of fixed dimensions. If the diameter is negligible, what is the longest section of rod that can be placed in the box?

(1) The box is 20 inches long and 12 wide.

(2) The volume of the box is 1200 cubic inches.
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by GmatKiss » Sat Aug 06, 2011 1:19 pm
OA:C