Question 54964
Shorter piece = x feet.
Three times the shorter piece = 3x feet.
Longer piece = (3x + 5) feet.

Now, total length = Shorter piece + Longer piece.
So, 9 = x + (3x + 5)
or 9 = 4x + 5
or x = 1

So longer piece is (3x + 5) = 8 feet and shorter piece is x = 1 foot.