QuestionA 10-foot board is cut into 3 pieces. One piece is 1 foot longer than the shortest and 2 feet shorter than the longest. Find the lengths.
Studdy Solution
STEP 1
Assumptions1. The total length of the board is10 feet.
. The board is cut into three pieces.
3. One piece is one foot longer than the shortest piece.
4. The same piece is also two feet shorter than the longest piece.
STEP 2
Let's denote the lengths of the three pieces as , , and , where is the shortest piece, is the piece that is one foot longer than and two feet shorter than , and is the longest piece.
STEP 3
From the problem, we know that and . We can write these equations as
STEP 4
We also know that the total length of the board, which is the sum of the lengths of the three pieces, is10 feet. So, we can write this as
STEP 5
Now, we have a system of three equations. We can solve this system by substitution. First, substitute from the first equation into the third equation
STEP 6
implify the equation
STEP 7
Rearrange the equation to isolate
STEP 8
implify the equation
STEP 9
Now, substitute from the second equation into the equation we just found
STEP 10
implify the equation
STEP 11
This equation is always true, so it doesn't give us any new information. Instead, substitute from the equation into the equation
STEP 12
implify the equation
STEP 13
Now, we have two equations for : and . Set these two equations equal to each other and solve for
STEP 14
Rearrange the equation to isolate
STEP 15
Divide both sides by3 to solve for
STEP 16
Now that we have , we can find and by substituting into the equations and So, the lengths of the three pieces are2 feet,3 feet, and5 feet.
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