<ol>
<li>Figures 1 and 2 above show two stacks of identical pail and their heights. If n is the number of pails in the stack and n>1, the height of the stacks, in inches, is given by h(n)=2n+8. The number 2 in the equation represents what quantity shown in figure 3?</li>
</ol>
<p>(A) a, the height of the pail
(B) b, the height of the overlap of two pails
(C) c, the distance between the top of one pail and the top of the next pail in the stack
(D) d, the diameter of the bottom of each pail
(E) e, the volume of the bottom pail that remains after the second pail is stacked on top of it</p>
<p>Well look at the equation and the two givens.
h(n) = 2n + 8.
Here the 8 is a constant for every single pail equation. So ask yourself, what remains constant every single time? The length of the bottom part of the bottom paiil which is fully viewable.</p>
<p>Now what is the other factor in getting the height of a stack? Its the 8 + the overlap of the next pails. That could be the answer! Suppose that’s 2 (since they gave you 2n). If that is, then the first stack, which is 8 + 5(2) = 18 = right! The second is 8 + 3(2) = 14 which is right!
(c) is correct.</p>
<p>Or you can think of it this way: If you add one pail to a stack, the stack is 2 inches taller. Since height is measured from the top of pails, the answer is C.</p>