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Re: A ribbon 40-inches long is to be cut into three pieces, each of whose [#permalink]
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OE


Minimizing the length of the longest piece is equivalent to maximizing the lengths of the remaining pieces, as long as they are shorter than the longest piece. Suppose that the longest piece were 14 inches long (a choice motivated by wanting to be less than the 15 in Quantity B). That would leave 40 − 14 = 26 inches to be accounted for by the other two pieces. Because each piece must be a different number of inches long, those pieces cannot each be 13 inches long. This, in turn, implies that one of the two remaining pieces would have to be more than 13 inches long—but then, that piece would be 14 inches long, again violating the constraint that each piece be of a different length. Thus, the longest piece must be at least 15 inches long, and the shorter pieces could then be 12 and 13 inches long, for a total of 40 inches. Thus, the two quantities are equal.
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Re: A ribbon 40-inches long is to be cut into three pieces, each of whose [#permalink]
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OE


Minimizing the length of the longest piece is equivalent to maximizing the lengths of the remaining pieces, as long as they are shorter than the longest piece. Suppose that the longest piece were 14 inches long (a choice motivated by wanting to be less than the 15 in Quantity B). That would leave 40 − 14 = 26 inches to be accounted for by the other two pieces. Because each piece must be a different number of inches long, those pieces cannot each be 13 inches long. This, in turn, implies that one of the two remaining pieces would have to be more than 13 inches long—but then, that piece would be 14 inches long, again violating the constraint that each piece be of a different length. Thus, the longest piece must be at least 15 inches long, and the shorter pieces could then be 12 and 13 inches long, for a total of 40 inches. Thus, the two quantities are equal.



Thanks a lot. I got it now
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Re: A ribbon 40-inches long is to be cut into three pieces, each of whose [#permalink]
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