Question

Irvin cut 47 inches of wire into two pieces. The longer piece is 13 inches longer than the shorter piece. What is the length of the longer piece?

A. 17 inches
B. 13 inches
C. 30 inches
D. 34 inches

Answer 1

The longer piece of wire is 30 inches, which is calculated by setting up an equation based on the given total length and the difference between the lengths of the two pieces.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve the problem, we need to set up an equation. Let x be the length of the shorter piece of wire. Then the longer piece is x + 13 inches. Since the total length of wire cut is 47 inches, the equation we can set up is:

x + (x + 13) = 47

Solving for x, we combine like terms:

2x + 13 = 47

Subtract 13 from both sides:

2x = 34

Now divide both sides by 2:

x = 17

So the shorter piece is 17 inches. The longer piece is x + 13 inches, or 17 + 13, which equals 30 inches.

The length of the longer piece is 30 inches, which corresponds to option C.