Star Spangled Banner
(A true story) The Star-Spangled Banner is a flag that is 30 by 42 feet that was flying over Baltimore's Fort McHenry when the British attacked the fort in 1814. This is the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the United States' national anthem. Between 1814 and 1912, 8 feet disappeared from the bottom of the flag and in 1912 the 30 by 34 foot flag was donated to the Smithsonian museum. At the time of the donation, a linen backing was stitched to the flag and conservators have now determined that this backing is structurally damaging to the flag and must be removed.
Given that there are 12 to 14 stitches per square inch, how many stitches are on the flag that must be removed?
Given that conservators can snip 3 square feet on a good day and 1 square foot on a bad day, how many days will it take them to remove the backing? (Explain what estimate you used for the amount a conservator can snip in one day and why.)
How many stitches can they remove in a day?
If they work an 8 hour day, how many stitches can they remove in an hour?
Assuming that they start work in January of 2000 and that they don't work weekends and federal holidays, on what day will they finish work?
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