Problema Solution
a 25inch piece of steel is cut into three pieces so that the second piece is twice as lond as the first piece, and the thired piece is one inch more than five times the length of the first piece3. find the lengths of the pieces.
Answer provided by our tutors
let
x = the length of the first piece
y = the length of the second piece
z = the length of the third piece
since the total length is 25 in we can write
x + y + z = 25
the second piece is twice as long as the first piece
y = 2*x
the third piece is one inch more than five times the length of the first piece
z = 1 + 5*x
by solving the system of equations
x + y + z = 25
y = 2*x
z = 1 + 5*x
we find
x = 3 in
y = 6 in
z = 16 in
The first piece is 3 in long, the second is 6 in and the third is 16 in long.