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Problem of the Week
Problem B
Grain Guess

Caden’s class wants to win a prize for the closest estimate to the number of grains of rice in a \(1\) kg bag of rice.

They have been given three clues:

  1. Clue (1): The number of grains is a \(5\)-digit even number.

  2. Clue (2): The sum of the five digits in the number is \(15\).

  3. Clue (3): The number, rounded to the nearest hundred, is \(51\,200\).

  1. Help Caden’s class win the prize. Use the given clues to determine all possible estimates of the number of grains of rice in the bag.

  2. Kendala, one of Caden’s classmates, found that the mass of a single grain of rice depends on the type, ranging from about \(20\) to \(45\) milligrams. When she used this to calculate how many grains were in the \(1\) kg bag, did her answer suggest the rice was of the lighter or heavier type?

Theme: Algebra