Question

Fulton is building a doghouse. He cuts 5 equal-sized pieces from a board that is 15 feet long. After cutting the pieces, he has 2

Which of these equations and expressions will, when solved or simplified, give the length of the 5 pieces of wood Fulton cut?

Answer 1

X=15 divided by 2

Explanation:

Where X equals 5.

Answer 2

`5x + 2(1)/(2) = 15` and
`(15 - 2(1)/(2) )/(5)`

Explanation:

Assume the length of each piece of wood is x feet.

We can say that the length of uncut board = (number of pieces × length of each piece) + length of leftover board, or
`15 = 5x + 2(1)/(2)`.

Apply the Symmetric Property of Equality:

`5x + 2(1)/(2) = 15`

Subtract
`2(1)/(2)` from both sides of the equation:

`5x = 15 - 2(1)/(2)`

Divide both sides by 5: (See image)

Cancel out the common terms from the numerator and denominator:

`x = (5)/(2)`

`= 2(1)/(2)`