A pipe manufacturer makes pipes of four different sizes. The diameter of each pipe is two times the diameter of the pipe of the next smaller size. The diameter of the biggest pipe is 16 centimeters.
What is the diameter of the pipe of the smallest size?
2 cm.
i think
To solve this problem, we can set up a proportion using the information given.
Let's assume the diameter of the smallest pipe is x centimeters.
According to the information, each successive pipe has a diameter that is twice the diameter of the next smaller size.
So the diameter of the second-smallest pipe is 2x
The diameter of the third-smallest pipe is 2(2x) = 4x
The diameter of the biggest pipe is 4(4x) = 16 centimeters.
Now we can set up a proportion:
x / 16 = 1 / 4
To solve for x, we can cross multiply:
4x = 16
x = 16 / 4
x = 4
Therefore, the diameter of the pipe of the smallest size is 4 centimeters.