Multiple choice general knowledge math & puzzles

A creeper plant is climbing up and around a cylindrical tree trunk in a helical manner. The tree trunk has a height of 540 inches and a circumference of 48 inches. If the creeper covers a vertical distance of 90 inches in one complete twist around the tree trunk, what is the total length of the creeper?

  1. 321

  2. 421

  3. 612

  4. 512

  5. 412

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The creeper makes 540/90 = 6 complete twists around the tree. Each twist forms a right triangle with horizontal leg = circumference = 48 inches and vertical leg = 90 inches. Using the Pythagorean theorem, one twist = sqrt(48² + 90²) = sqrt(10404) = 102 inches. Total length = 6 × 102 = 612 inches.