Question

Tara cuts a 300 inch long spool of yarn into two pieces of different sizes. The longer piece is three times as long as the shorter piece. How long is the shortest piece?

Answer 1

75 inches

Explanation:

Let x = the short side

Let y = the long side

x + y = 300

y = 3x

Plug 3x for y into the first equation:

x + 3x = 300

4x = 300 Divide both sides by 4

x = 75