Video Transcript
The graph shows how far Jacob, Ethan, and Mason managed to stretch an elastic band without breaking it. The names are missing from the graph, but Mason stretched his elastic band the farthest. Jacob beat Michael, and neither of them were last. Given that Jacob stretched his elastic band 12 inches, how far did Ethan stretch his?
There’s quite a lot of information in this question, so let’s underline some of the key bits of information. We know that Mason stretched his elastic band the farthest, so this bar, with the greatest length of 13 inches, must be Mason’s. We’re also told that Jacob stretched his elastic band 12 inches. This bar measures 12 inches on the scale, so this must be Jacob’s.
What we don’t know is how far Ethan stretched his elastic band. But we do know that Jacob beat Michael, and neither Jacob nor Michael were last. This bar represents the person who stretched their elastic band the least. So, we know that this bar does not belong to Jacob, and it does not belong to Michael.
This is the only other bar which could be Michael’s. Now we know that Ethan’s name is the only one missing from the graph. This means that Ethan was last, and he stretched his elastic band six inches.
