Jorge needs to ship a thin metal rod to a metalworking shop. The only boxes available for shipping are 7-inch cubes. To the nearest inch, what is the length of the longest metal rod that can be sent?

The longest straight rod that fits inside a cube lies along its space diagonal, from one corner to the opposite corner. For a 7-inch cube, that diagonal is √(7² + 7² + 7²) = 7√3 ≈ 12.1 inches, which rounds to 12 inches. So the correct choice is 12 inches.

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