[gfxgirl]

https://students.open.ac.uk/openmark/mct.level3/

> Question 1: Sara wants to buy a desk before she starts her Open University course. She has chosen a suitable place for it but needs to measure the space before going to buy it.

> Which of these units is the most suitable for measuring the width of the desk? (a) millimetres, (b) metres, (c) centimetres, (d) kilometres.

Seems pretty arbitrary to me. Okay (d) is arguably out. (b) is maybe out? (c) vs (d) seems a toss up to me. Who cares if it's 1234mm or 123.4cm? How is this even a good question? Not a good sign

Note: the answer they want is (a). I don't think I have a tape measure I could get accurate millimeters on especially given measuring a space where I need to bend the tape at 90 degrees like next to a wall.

[EliRivers]

I might hazard that you, by virtue of being here and by virtue of having dug so far into the question, are exactly not the kind of person this question is targeted at.

Imagine being someone who cannot produce an answer to this question. Who cannot discuss it.

The vast majority of people for whom this entry-level course is aimed at do not think like you. The purpose of the question is not to elicit a correct answer, although I note the effect intended actually worked perfectly on you and the question has been a success in your case. Maybe you are exactly the kind of person this question is aimed at!

[strls]

The specs for furniture and home appliances do use mm to specify dimensions. Also any 5m measuring tape in Europe has mm.

[pbhjpbhj]

The reason for the question, IMO, is not to get the given answer.

The reason is to learn why there is an answer, at which point you can give an opinion as to whether cm/mm are better. You've missed the primary step, and almost certainly are - as others point out - over qualified for this question (which is a precursor to discussions of decimal precision).

Often when helping the kids with homework I find myself answering "well this is the answer they want ... but the real answer is ...".

tl;dr the question is there to make you think, not because there's only one answer.