Question

Margaret is cutting straws that are 4 inches long into 1/2-inch pieces. She has two straws. She needs twenty 1/2-inch pieces. Does she have enough to cut 20 pieces?

Answer 1

She doesn't have enough straws to cut 20 pieces.

Explanation

As the number of 1/2 inch pieces needed is 20, so the total length of all 20 pieces should be : $(\frac{1}{2}*20 )inch =10 inch$

Now, she has two straws and the length of each straw is 4 inches.

So, the total length of two straws $=(2*4) inch= 8 inch$

As, the total length of two straws is less than the total length needed , that means she doesn't have enough straws to cut 20 pieces.