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Problem of the Week
Problem A and Solution
Going to the Birds

Problem

The following table shows some information about some of the world’s tallest birds. However, the table is incomplete.

Bird Average Height (in cm)
Mute Swan
Ostrich
King Penguin \(92\)
Andean Condor
Emu
Southern Cassowary \(155\)
Wandering Albatross
  1. Use the following information about the average heights of these birds to fill in the rest of the table:

  2. List the birds in order from shortest to tallest.

Solution

  1. Since the Andean Condor is \(18\) cm taller than the King Penguin, the Andean Condor is \(92 + 18 = 110\) cm tall.

    Since the Mute Swan is \(55\) cm shorter than the Southern Cassowary, the Mute Swan is \(155 - 55 = 100\) cm tall.

    Since the Wandering Albatross is \(7\) cm taller than the Mute Swan, the Wandering Albatross is \(100 + 7 = 107\) cm tall.

    Since the Ostrich is \(1\) m taller than the Andean Condor, and \(1\) m \(=\) \(100\) cm, the Ostrich is \(110 + 100 = 210\) cm tall.

    Since the Southern Cassowary is \(20\) mm taller than the Emu, and \(20\) mm \(=\) \(2\) cm, the Emu is \(155 -2 = 153\) cm tall.

    The completed version of the table is:

    Bird Average Height (in cm)
    Mute Swan \(100\)
    Ostrich \(210\)
    King Penguin \(92\)
    Andean Condor \(110\)
    Emu \(153\)
    Southern Cassowary \(155\)
    Wandering Albatross \(107\)
  2. We can rank the birds from shortest to tallest using the completed table from part (a). From shortest to tallest, the birds are:
    King Penguin, Mute Swan, Wandering Albatross, Andean Condor, Emu, Southern Cassowary, Ostrich