To evaluate Max's estimate of the amount of powdered substance remaining in the container, let's first do the calculations based on the actual values.
- Max has 9.52 grams in total.
- He places 1.98 grams into each of the 3 glass plates.
Calculating the total amount he removes: \[ 3 \times 1.98 = 5.94 \text{ grams} \]
Now, calculating the remaining amount in the container: \[ 9.52 - 5.94 = 3.58 \text{ grams} \]
Now let’s check Max's estimate of 4.5 grams against the rounding arguments in the provided options.
Evaluating Each Option:
Option A:
- Rounding 9.52 to 9 and 1.98 to 1.5: \[ 9 - 3(1.5) = 9 - 4.5 = 4.5 \] This calculation is correct according to this rounding.
Option B:
- Rounding 9.52 to 9.5 and 1.98 to 2: \[ 9.5 - 3(2) = 9.5 - 6 = 3.5 \] This is not close to 4.5 grams.
Option C:
- Rounding 9.52 to 9 and 1.98 to 2.5: \[ 9 - 3(2.5) = 9 - 7.5 = 1.5 \] This does not support Max's estimate of 4.5 grams.
Option D:
- Rounding 9.52 to 9 and 1.98 to 1: \[ 9 - 3(1) = 9 - 3 = 6 \] This is also far from 4.5 grams.
Conclusion:
The only option supporting Max's estimate is Option A, where rounding yields a computation leading to approximately 4.5 grams remaining. Therefore, it can be concluded that Max's estimate is reasonable based on that rounding.
The correct choice is: A. This is reasonable because 9.52 grams can be rounded to 9 grams and 1.98 grams can be rounded to 1.5 grams. Since 9 − 3(1.5) = 4.5, there would be about 4.5 grams of the powdered substance remaining in the container.