Final answer:
The length of the longer piece of ribbon, when a 39-inch ribbon is cut so one piece is 33 inches longer than the other, is 36 inches.
Step-by-step explanation:
To solve the question: A 39-inch piece of ribbon is cut so that one piece is 33 inches longer than the other. What is the length of the longer piece of ribbon? Let's denote the length of the shorter piece as x inches. The longer piece would then be x + 33 inches. Adding both pieces together should give us the total length of the ribbon, which is 39 inches.
So the equation to represent this situation is: x + (x + 33) = 39.
Combining like terms we get: 2x + 33 = 39. Subtract 33 from both sides to solve for x: 2x = 6. Dividing by 2 gives us: x = 3.
Now, to find the length of the longer piece, we add 33 to the length of the shorter piece: 3 + 33, which equals 36 inches. So the length of the longer piece of ribbon is 36 inches.