Question

Jamilla has a piece of ribbon that is 48.5 centimeters long. For her scrapbook,she cuts it into three pieces so the second piece is 3 times as long as the first, and the third piece is twice as long as the second piece. What are the lengths of the 3 pieces?

Answer 1

the first is x
the 2nd is 3 times the first or 3x
the third is 2 times long as the 2nd piece or 2(3x) or 6x


total length=1st piece+2nd piece+3rd piece
48.5=x+3x+6x
48.5=10x
divide by 10
4.85=x
3x=14.55
6x=29.1


the 3 pieces are 4.85cm, 14.55cm and 29.1cm