SOLUTION: Miguel needs to cut his 40 cm piece of yarn into three smaller pieces. The longest piece is to be 3 times as long as the middle-sized piece, and the shortest is to be 5 cm shorter

Algebra ->  Finance -> SOLUTION: Miguel needs to cut his 40 cm piece of yarn into three smaller pieces. The longest piece is to be 3 times as long as the middle-sized piece, and the shortest is to be 5 cm shorter      Log On


   

Question 301826: Miguel needs to cut his 40 cm piece of yarn into three smaller pieces. The longest piece is to be 3 times as long as the middle-sized piece, and the shortest is to be 5 cm shorter than the middle-sized piece. What lengths should be cut?
Answer by stanbon(75887) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Miguel needs to cut his 40 cm piece of yarn into three smaller pieces. The longest piece is to be 3 times as long as the middle-sized piece, and the shortest is to be 5 cm shorter than the middle-sized piece. What lengths should be cut?
-----------------------
Let the midle-sized piece have length "x".
Longest piece has length "3x".
Shortes piece has length "x-5".
======================
Equation:
x + 3x + x-5 = 40
5x = 45
x = 9 cm (middle)
3x = 27 cm (largest)
x-5 = 4 cm (smallest)
=========================
Cheers,
Stan H.
=========================