Question

David has a hose that is 27 ft long. He wants to cut it into two pieces is 3 ft more than 2 times the length of the shorter piece

Answer 1

Answer: The shorter piece is 8 ft and the longer piece is 19 ft.

Explanation:

Let x be the shorter piece. We will write an equation that represents the original problem to help us solve.

27 ft = x + (2x + 3)

Now, we will solve this equation.

27 ft = x + (2x + 3)

27 ft = 3x + 3

24 ft = 3x

8 ft = x

The shorter piece is 8 ft long.

Then, we will use substitution for the longer piece.

2x + 3

2(8) + 3

19

The longer piece is 19 ft long.

To do a rough check of our work, 19+8=27 ✓