Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2021

Algebra Difficulty 1.7 Junior Find the answer Canada

Three cubes have edge lengths 33 cm, 1212 cm, and xx cm. The average volume of the three cubes is 700 cm 3\text{700 cm 3}. The value of xx, rounded to the nearest integer, is

Pick one

Solution

Since the average volume of three cubes is 700 cm 3\text{700 cm 3}, their total volume is 3 700 cm 3\text{3 700 cm 3} or 2100 cm 3\text{2100 cm 3}.

The volume of a cube with edge length ss cm is s 3 cm 3\text{s 3 cm 3}.

Therefore, 33+123+x3=21003^3 + 12^3 + x^3 = 2100 and so 27+1728+x3=210027 + 1728 + x^3 = 2100 or x3=345x^3 = 345.

Since x3=345x^3 = 345, then x7.01x \approx 7.01, which is closest to 7.

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Source: CEMC, University of Waterloo, licensed CC-BY-NC-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.