Question

A 32-ft pipe must be cut into three pieces. The longest piece will be twice as long as the shortest piece, and the medium-sized piece will be 4 feet longer than the shortest piece. Find the length of each piece of pipe.

Answer 1

7, 11, 14 feet from shortest to longest

Explanation:

Let's say that the shortest pipe is equal to x, and work from there.

The medium size piece is 4 feet longer than the shortest piece, so it is equal to 4+x

The longest piece is twice as long as the shortest piece, so it is equal to 2 * x.

The three pieces added up make up the 32 feet pipe, so we can write this as

(2*x) + (4+x) + x = 32

2*x + 4 + x + x = 32

4 * x + 4 = 32

subtract 4 from both sides to isolate the x and its coefficient

4 * x = 28

divide both sides by 4 to isolate the x

x= 7

Therefore, the shortest piece is x=7 feet long. The medium piece is x+4=11 feet long, and the longest piece is x*2=14 feet long