Tricky(?) Crocodile Maths Exam Question

[ndzied1]

As a point of reference, I gave this problem to my 16 yr. old High School Jr. who is in the AP Calculus BC course.

The first part was trivial. The 2nd part took < 5 minutes. He said he used a calculator to do the square root and a multiply he could have done quickly by hand anyway. And he even go the Tenths of a second part...

He thought the author of the article should be reprimanded for not using the term "Crocodile Tears".