Final answer:
To find the length of the shorter piece, set up an equation: x + 2x = 174. Solve the equation to find that x = 58. The length of the shorter piece is 58 inches.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the length of the shorter piece, we need to set up an equation based on the information given. Let x represent the length of the shorter piece. The longer piece is two times the length of the shorter piece, so its length is 2x. The sum of the lengths of the two pieces should equal the total length of the pipe, which is 174 inches. So we can write the equation as: x + 2x = 174.
Combining like terms, we get 3x = 174. Dividing both sides of the equation by 3, we find that x = 58. Therefore, the length of the shorter piece is 58 inches.