Question 57119
A board 16ft long is cut into three pieces in such a way that the second piece is 1 ft longer then twice the first, and the third piece is 1ft shorter then the first. Find the length of each piece. 
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Let the 1st piece have length "x" ft.
Then the 2nd piece has length "2x+1" ft.
And the 3rd piece has length "x-1" ft.
EQUATION:
1st + 2nd + 3rd = 16 ft.
x + 2x+1 + x-1 = 16
4x=16
x=4 ft.
1st piece=x=4ft
2nd piece= 2x+1=9 ft.
3rd piece+ x-1 = 3 ft.
Cheers,
Stan H.