Question

for a drafting class, Latasha wants to horizontally center a figure that's 17 3/4 cm wide within a 41 cm border. how much space should Latasha leave on either side of the figure so that its centered?​

Answer 1

Answer:  11  5/8  cm

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Explanation:

It sounds like the entire width of the paper is 41 cm.

Subtract off 17 3/4 = 17.75 cm to get 41 - 17.75 = 23.25 cm

Then divide this in half so we find out how much space is on either side. We want these two buffer zones to be equal so the figure is centered horizontally.

23.25/2 = 11.625

Then convert back to a mixed number

11.625 = 11 + 0.625

11.625 = 11 + 625/1000

11.625 = 11 + (5*125)/(8*125)

11.625 = 11 + 5/8

11.625 = 11 & 5/8

11.625 = 11  5/8

Latasha needs 11 & 5/8 cm of space on either side of the figure to center it horizontally.

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Alternative Method:

x = how much space is on either side

2x = total buffer room

2x+17.75 = width of the entire page = 41

Solving 2x+17.75 = 41 leads to x = 11.625 = 11 & 5/8