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?

1 answer

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