SOLUTION: A carpenter used 54ft of molding in three pieces to trim a garage door. If the long piece was 4ft longer than three times the length of each shorter piece, then how long was each p

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Question 1144546: A carpenter used 54ft of molding in three pieces to trim a garage door. If the long piece was 4ft longer than three times the length of each shorter piece, then how long was each piece?
Answer by ikleyn(52781) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
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Let x be the length of each of the two shorter pieces.


Then the length of the longer piece is  3x+4, and the equation for the total is


    x + x + (3x + 4) = 54.


Simplify and solve for x.


    5x + 4 = 54

    5x = 54 - 4 = 50.

     x          = 50/5 = 10.


ANSWER.  Both short pieces are 10 ft long.  The long piece is 3*10+4 = 34 ft long.

Solved.