An overnight delivery service will not accept any package whose combined length and girth (perimeter of a cross section) exceeds 88 inches.Suppose that you are sending a rectangular package that has square cross sections.If the length of the package is 40 inches, what is the maximum width of the sides of its square cross sections?
A) 7.2 inches
B) 14.4 inches
C) 12.0 inches
D) 19.2 inches
E) 4.8 inches

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If the package has square cross sections, then the perimeter of each cross section is simply 4 times the length of one side of the square. Let w be the width of each side of the square cross sections. Therefore, the combined length and girth of the package is given by:

40 + 4w

According to the problem, this value cannot exceed 88 inches. Therefore:

40 + 4w ≤ 88
4w ≤ 48
w ≤ 12

Therefore, the maximum width of the sides of the square cross sections is 12 inches. Option C) is the choice that matches this value.

An Overnight Delivery Service Will Not Accept Any Package Whose