Problem
Mark the equal hops
Along GN, G to the first center is one radius (5 cm); each center to the next is one more radius, and so is the last center to N.
The center-to-edge distance of any circle is its radius, so every piece of GN is the same 5 cm length.
3.G.A.1Draw A DiagramEvery piece of segment GN is the same length, one radius (5 cm): from G to the first center, each center to the next center, and the last center to N.
Why?
GN is exactly those pieces laid end to end with no gaps and no overlaps, so the length of GN is just the pieces added together.
Why?
Each piece is one radius long: the picture is drawn so every circle passes through the next center, which puts that next center right on the circle's rim, and G and N are the rim points at the two far ends.
Why?
A point sitting on a circle's rim is exactly one radius away from that circle's center, because that fixed center-to-rim distance is what the radius is.
Why?
Those radii are all the same 5 cm because the 21 circles are equal, so each piece equals a radius and each radius equals 5 cm, which makes every piece 5 cm.
Count the pieces with a small case
Small cases: 2 circles → 3 pieces (2+1), 3 circles → 4 pieces (3+1), so 21 circles → 22 equal pieces of 5 cm.
There is always one more gap than the number of jumps between centers, because we add the two end radii.
3.OA.A.3Solve An Easier Related ProblemMultiply to get the length
There are 22 equal pieces, each 5 cm long: 22 × 5 = 110.
Repeated equal lengths join into a total by multiplication, a Grade 3 fact within 100.
3.OA.C.7Look For A PatternEvery gap is one radius, so just count the gaps and multiply -- only Grade 3 multiplication you already know!
- Mark the equal hops
- Count the pieces with a small case
- Multiply to get the length