Question

Ecuardo is a plumber and his preparing to install copper pipes in a home . He must cut a 17 foot piece of copper pipe into two different size pieces . The shorter piece must be 4.5 feet shorter than the long piece of the pipe . Find the length of each piece .

Answer 1

Let shorter piece be x feet and longer be y feet long, then

x + y = 17

y - x = 4.5

adding these 2 equations:-

2y = 21.5

y = 10.75

so x = 17 - 10.75 = 6.25

Answer: shorter side is 6.25 ft and longer is 10.75 ft answer