Question

a group of students has been asked to design a new type of cafeteria plate that is less likely to be damaged when it is dropped on the floor. they made plates of varying thickness using different materials such as ceramic, plastic, and wood. they dropped each plate from varying heights and recorded the height at which it cracked. the table below shows the data collected by the students. based on the students data, which material would make the strongest plate? a. ceramic 10 mm thick b. plastic 5 mm thick c. wood 10 mm thick d. plastic 15 mm thick

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze data for each material

We look at the height at which the plate cracks for different thicknesses of each material.

Step2: Compare maximum crack - height for materials

For ceramic: 5 ft (for 15 mm thickness). For plastic: 20 ft (for 10 mm thickness). For wood: 15 ft (for 10 mm thickness).

Step3: Determine the strongest material

The material with the highest height at which the plate cracks is the strongest. Plastic has the highest crack - height value among the materials in the data. And from the options, we need to find the plastic option with the highest thickness as thicker plates are generally stronger in this context.

Answer:

D. plastic 15 mm thick