Question

Write an inequality representing the relationship between the number of short boards and 54 inches. If 3 boards end to end plus a 12-inch ruler make the 54 inches, which of the following inequalities is correct?

a) 3x + 12 ≤ 54
b) 3x + 12 = 54
c) 3x + 12 > 54
d) 3x + 12 < 54

Answer 1

To represent the relationship between the number of short boards and 54 inches, we use the equation 3x + 12 = 54, solve for x, and find that each board is 14 inches long.

Step-by-step explanation:

The task is to write an inequality representing the relationship between the number of short boards and a total length of 54 inches. Given that adding 3 of these boards end to end along with a 12-inch ruler equals 54 inches, we can express this situation with the equation 3x + 12 = 54, where x represents the length of one board in inches.

To solve this, subtract 12 from both sides to isolate the term with x on one side resulting in 3x = 42, then divide by 3 to get x = 14. Therefore, the length of each individual board is 14 inches.