Question

A 36 foot long rope is cut into two pieces, and one of the pieces is twice as large as the other. a. What does the variable 'x' mean in this problem? b. Set up an equation from the problem's description and your variable. c. Find the length of the two pieces of rope.

Answer 1

a.

x - the length of the shorter piece

b.

twice as large means:

2x - the length of the loger piece

so:

x + 2x - the sum of length of pieces {total of rope}

the equation: x + 2x = 36

c.

x + 2x = 36

3x = 36

÷3 ÷3

x = 12 ft

2x = 2×12 = 24 ft

The length of the shorter piece is 12 ft

The length of the loger piece is 24 ft