Answer:
11 cars can be placed side by side.
Step-by-step explanation:
Given:
Width of the pinewood derby can is, [tex]w=2\frac{3}{4}\ in[/tex]
Total width available to place the cars side by side = [tex]W=31\frac{1}{2}\ in[/tex]
Converting the mixed fraction to decimal form:
[tex]w=2\frac{3}{4}=2+\frac{3}{4}=2+0.75=2.75\ in\\W=31\frac{1}{2}=31+\frac{1}{2}=31+0.5=31.5\ in[/tex]
Now, the total width available will be used by the cars without any space between them.
The formula to determine the number of pinewood derby cars is given as:
[tex]\textrm{Number of cars}=\frac{\textrm{Total width}}{\textrm{Width of 1 car}}\\\\ \textrm{Number of cars}=\frac{\textrm{W}}{\textrm{w}}[/tex]
Plug in the given values and determine the number of cars that can be displayed side by side. This gives,
[tex]\textrm{Number of cars}=\frac{31.5}{2.75}\\\\\textrm{Number of cars}=11.45\approx11[/tex]
Therefore, 11 cars can be placed side by side.
