A structural steel fabricator cuts 30 pieces, each 18.6 centimeters long, from a 7.5-meter length of channel iron. Allowing 5.0 millimeters waste for each piece, what is the length in meters of channel iron left after all pieces have been cut? Round the answer to two significant digits.

Answer 1

The total length of the 30 pieces is 30 pieces * 18.6 cm = <<30*18.6=558>>558 cm.
Converting the length of the pieces to meters gives 558 cm * 1 m/100 cm = <<558*1/100=5.58>>5.58 m.
The total waste is 30 pieces * 5.0 mm/piece = 150 mm.
Converting the waste to meters gives 150 mm * 1 m/1000 mm = <<150*1/1000=0.15>>0.15 m.
The total length of channel iron used for the pieces and waste is 5.58 m + 0.15 m = <<5.58+0.15=5.73>>5.73 m.
The length of channel iron left after all the pieces have been cut is 7.5 m - 5.73 m = <<7.5-5.73=1.77>>1.77 m. Answer: \boxed{1.77}.