Question 993858: Hi
how many complete circles of 4cm radius can be cut from a fabric measuring 5m by 1.3m.
thank you Found 2 solutions by jhunjiro, ikleyn:Answer by jhunjiro(67) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! .
The previous solution
http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/word/misc/Miscellaneous_Word_Problems.faq.question.993858.html
is totally wrong!
To estimate the numbers of circles, you should divide the area of the fabric 5 m x 1.3 m
(or, better, 4.96 m x 1.28 m) by the area of the square with the side of 8 cm.
You have = 62 sizes of the square along the the longer side of the fabric and = 16
sizes of the square along the shorter sides. In total, there are 62*16 = 992 such squares.
There is another pattern, which seems more promising. It is the pattern where the centers
of circles are located in the vertices of equilateral triangles. Although it is elementary to analyse
such a pattern, it seems to be still above of the average school level, therefore
I am not placing such an analysis here.