Question

A thin wire is used to construct all the edges of a cube of 1 m side by bending, cutting and soldering the wire. If the wire is 12 m long, what is the minimum number of cuts required to construct the wire frame to form the cube?

• A. 3
• B. 4
• C. 6
• D. 12

Hint:

For cube frame problems, think of how many segments you need to form the edges and plan your cuts accordingly.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Understanding the Problem:
A cube has 12 edges, and if a wire of 12 m length is used to form the cube, then each edge must be 1 m long. To create a cube, we need to divide and bend the wire properly to form its 3-dimensional structure.

How Many Cuts Are Needed?
Since the total length of the wire is 12 m, we need to strategically divide it into smaller sections that can be arranged to form the cube’s edges. The number of cuts required depends on how the wire is handled and divided.

- The cube consists of 12 edges, so we must ensure that we obtain 12 segments of 1 m each. - If we cut the wire into three equal parts, each of 4 m, these can be further bent and shaped to form the cube's edges. - With a minimum of 3 cuts, we can divide the wire into 4-meter segments, which can then be bent efficiently to form the cube.

Final Conclusion:
The minimum number of cuts required to form the cube while making efficient use of the wire is 3. This allows us to create the necessary edges without wasting wire or requiring additional cuts.