Kari and Samantha have determined that their water-balloon launcher works best when they launch the balloon at an angle within 3 degrees of 45 degrees. Which equation can be used to determine the minimum and maximum optimal angles of launch, and what is the minimum angle that is still optimal?

“Within 3 degrees of 45 degrees” means the launch angle is 3 degrees away from 45 at either limit, so the boundary equation is |x − 45| = 3. Solving gives x = 45 − 3 = 42 or x = 45 + 3 = 48. The minimum optimal angle is 42 degrees, so the correct choice is C.

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