SOLUTION: Jim has five pieces of string. He needs to chose the piece that will go around his 36inch waist. His belt broke and his pants are falling down.the piece needs to be atleast 4inches

Algebra ->  Customizable Word Problem Solvers  -> Misc -> SOLUTION: Jim has five pieces of string. He needs to chose the piece that will go around his 36inch waist. His belt broke and his pants are falling down.the piece needs to be atleast 4inches      Log On

Ad: Over 600 Algebra Word Problems at edhelper.com


    

Question 146331: Jim has five pieces of string. He needs to chose the piece that will go around his 36inch waist. His belt broke and his pants are falling down.the piece needs to be atleast 4inches longer than his waist so he can tie a knot in it, but it can not be more than 6 inches longer so that the ends will not show from under his shirt. Which of the following pieces of string will work the best?
a. 3 4/5 feet
b. 3 2/3 feet
c. 3 3/8 feet
d. 3 1/4 feet
e. 2 1/2 feet

thank you in advance!
Answer by Electrified_Levi(103) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Hi, Hope I can help
.
Jim has five pieces of string. He needs to chose the piece that will go around his 36 inch(3 foot) waist. His belt broke and his pants are falling down. The piece needs to be at least 4 inches longer than his waist so he can tie a knot in it, but it can not be more than 6 inches longer so that the ends will not show from under his shirt. Which of the following pieces of string will work the best?
a. 3 +4%2F5+ feet
.
b. 3 +2%2F3+ feet
.
c. 3 +3%2F8+ feet
.
d. 3 +1%2F4+ feet
.
e. 2 +1%2F2+ feet
.
The problem says the string needs to be at least 4 inches longer than his waist, it needs to be at least 40 inches long, or 3 +1%2F3+ feet long. It throws out answer "e", because string "e" won't even fit around his waist.
.
Next you have to find a common denominator for the remaining four fractions, which is 120, you also need to convert the "limits", so it is easier.
.
The string has to be at least 3 +1%2F3+ feet(3 +40%2F120+ feet), but no more than 3 +1%2F2+ feet(3 60%2F120+ feet)
.
a. 3 +4%2F5+ feet = 3 +96%2F120+ feet
.
b. 3 +2%2F3+ feet = 3 +80%2F120+ feet
.
c. 3 +3%2F8+ feet = 3 +45%2F120+ feet
.
d. 3 +1%2F4+ feet = 3 +30%2F120+ feet
.
The string has to be at least 3 +1%2F3+ feet(3 +40%2F120+ feet), which throws out answer "d"
.
It can not be more than 3 1%2F2+ feet(3 +60%2F120+ feet), it cannot be answers "a" or "b", because they are more than 3 +1%2F2+ feet
(3 +60%2F120+ feet) long.
.
The answer is "c"[3 +3%2F8+ feet(3 +45%2F120+ feet)]
.
It is between 3 +1%2F3+ feet(3 +40%2F120+ feet) and 3 +1%2F2+(3 +60%2F120+ feet). It will work the best.
.
Hope this helped, Levi