Question

A boy purchased (bought) a party-length sandwich 56 in. long. He wants to cut it into three pieces so that the middle piece is 6 in. longer than the shortest piece and the shortest piece is 8 in. shorter than the longest piece. How long should the three pieces be?

Answer 1

8+6 = 14

Middle: 14
Shortest: 8

14+8 = 22
56-22 = 34

Biggest: 34in
Middle: 14in
Shortest: 8in

Answer 2

let's say the 3 pieces are a, b and c.

a = shortest piece

b = middle piece

c = longest piece

we know that a + b + c = 56, that's the length of the sandwich, rather long, but heck.

since the shortest piece is a, and the middle piece is 6 longer than that, then b = a + 6.

we also know the shortest piece is 8 less than the longest, well, c is the longest, and 8 less than that is c - 8, thus a = c - 8, and therefore a + 8 = c.

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