On Monday, it snowed a total of 15 inches. On Tuesday and Wednesday, it snowed and additional 4 1/2 inches and 6 3/4 inches respectively. A weather forecaster says that over the last three days, it snowed over 2 1/2 feet. Is this a valid claim? Justify your answer.

No. This is not a valid claim

Step-by-step explanation:

First we sum up the total snowfall for the 3 days as:

Monday = 15 inches

Tuesday=4.5 inches

Wednesday=6.75 inches

Total = 26.25 inches

As it is understood that there are 12 inches per foot. So we can simply multiply the number of inches it snowed during the last three days by this factor to find out.

26.25 in * 1ft / 12in ⇒

i. e. 26.25 x 1ft/12

which is 26.25ft / 12

that concludes 2.1875 ft

so it is not close to the forecaster said over 2 1/2 ft

Add them all up:

15 + 4 1/2 + 6 3/4 = 26 1/4 in.

2 ft equals 24 in.

2 1/2 ft = 30 in.

Yes, it is a valid claim.