Question

A builder needs three pipes of different lengths. The pipes are feet long, feet long, and feet long.

How many feet of piping is required in all? (Hint: Try dividing each radicand by 6.)

20/6 feet
98/6 feet
20/294 feet
20/540 feet

Answer 1

The problem statement looks like some numbers (the radicands) got dropped. Could you confirm the three lengths? For example, did you mean
√120 ft, √588 ft, and √540 ft?
(The hint “divide each radicand by 6” matches those three.)

If those are the lengths, here’s the total:

√120 + √588 + √540
= √6(√20 + √98 + √90) (factor out √6)
= √6(2√5 + 7√2 + 3√10) (simplify each radical)
= 2√30 + 14√3 + 6√15 (distribute √6)

Numeric total ≈ 58.4411 feet.

If your three pipe lengths are different, tell me the exact radicands and I’ll compute the total.