Question

A stick 43 inches long is broken into two pieces, so that one piece is twice as long as the other. How long are the two pieces?

Answer 1

One piece is
`(43)/(3)` inches and another piece is
`(86)/(3)` inches

Explanation:

Let smaller piece length be
`s`

Let larger piece length be
`l`

Since total of two pieces is 43, we can write:

`s+l=43`

Also, one piece is twice as long as the other (so longer piece is definitely twice as the short piece), we can write:

`l=2s`

Substituting equation 2 into equation one, we can solve for s:

`s+l=43\\s+(2s)=43\\3s=43\\s=(43)/(3)`

Thus longer piece is:

`l=2s=2((43)/(3))=(86)/(3)`