Question

A 33-inch piece of steel is cut into three pieces so that the second piece is twice as long as the first piece, and the third piece is one inch more than five times the length of the first piece. Find the lengths of the pieces. What is the length of the first piece? ​

Answer 1

Length of first piece is 4

Explanation:

Let the length of the 1st piece equal x

Then, express all lengths in terms of x

1. length of first piece = x
2. length of second piece = 2x
3. length of third piece = 5x + 1

Create equation and solve for x:

`x +2x+(5x+1)=33\\x+2x+5x+1=33\\8x+1-1=33-1\\8x=32\\8x/8=32/ 8\\x=4`