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Problem of the Week
Problem A and Solution
The Metric Argument

Problem

Millie, Kai, Mircea and Candice were debating about which metric units they liked the most. Millie thought millimeters were best, Kai loved kilometers, Mircea loved meters, and Candice’s favourite was centimeters.

Who should measure each of the following lengths with their favourite unit, if they want to keep each value between \(2\) and \(50\), inclusive?

Length Being Measured Measurer
The length of an ant
The length of a bus
The length of a marathon
The length of an adult foot
The length of a new pencil
The length of an olympic swimming pool
The length of a human baby tooth

Solution

In order to keep the measurement numbers between \(2\) and \(50\), inclusive, here is the completed table, along with an approximate measurement for each:

Length Being Measured Measurer
The length of an ant Millie (\(6\) mm)
The length of a bus Mircea (\(12\) m)
The length of a marathon Kai (\(42\) km)
The length of an adult foot Candice (\(25\) cm)
The length of a new pencil Candice (\(18\) cm)
The length of an olympic swimming pool Mircea (\(50\) m)
The length of a human baby tooth Millie (\(9\) mm)