Expert: Bobby Soltani - 7/7/2005

Question
The ideal surface area of a rubber ball shipped from the factory is 50.25 square inches. The company inspector insists that the balls shipped vary no more than 0.3 square inches of this total. To the nearest hundredth, what is the minimum value for the surface area of rubber balls shipped?  

Answer
Hi Emma,

Since the ideal surface area is 50.25 square inches and the balls shipped can't vary by more than 0.3 square inches, that means that the minimum is
50.25 - 0.3 = 49.95 square inches
and the maximum is
50.25 + 0.3 = 50.55 square inches.

This can be written as a tolerance of +/- 0.3 square inches.
So, the answer is 49.95 square inches.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Bobby