Question

The table shows the times of the top six swimmers in the women’s 100 meter butterfly at the 2012 Olympic Games.

A 2-column table with 6 rows. Column 1 is labeled Place with entries 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Column 2 is labeled Time (seconds) with entries 55.98, 56.87, 56.94, 57.17, 57.27, 57.35.

Between which two places is the difference in finishing times the shortest?


What is the difference in those times?

Answer 1

To find the two swimmers with the shortest difference in finishing times, we will calculate the differences between the times for each consecutive place:

1. Between 1st (55.98) and 2nd (56.87):
\[
56.87 - 55.98 = 0.89 \text{ seconds}
\]

2. Between 2nd (56.87) and 3rd (56.94):
\[
56.94 - 56.87 = 0.07 \text{ seconds}
\]

3. Between 3rd (56.94) and 4th (57.17):
\[
57.17 - 56.94 = 0.23 \text{ seconds}
\]

4. Between 4th (57.17) and 5th (57.27):
\[
57.27 - 57.17 = 0.10 \text{ seconds}
\]

5. Between 5th (57.27) and 6th (57.35):
\[
57.35 - 57.27 = 0.08 \text{ seconds}
\]

Now, we summarize the differences:

- 1st and 2nd: 0.89 seconds
- 2nd and 3rd: 0.07 seconds
- 3rd and 4th: 0.23 seconds
- 4th and 5th: 0.10 seconds
- 5th and 6th: 0.08 seconds

The smallest difference is between 2nd place (56.87 seconds) and 3rd place (56.94 seconds) with a difference of **0.07 seconds**.

Thus, the answers to your questions are:
- Between which two places is the difference in finishing times the shortest? **2nd and 3rd**
- What is the difference in those times? **0.07 seconds**