washington monument and eiffel tower

Question

The Eiffel tower is 497ft taller than the Washington monument. If each of the monuments were 58 Ft shorter, the Eiffel tower would be twice as tall as the Washington monument. How tall is each.

Answer 1

We will start out by identifying the height of the Washington monument as variable X

 

By making the above statement, we can then say that the height of the Eiffel tower is: X + 497

 

We then translate the second sentence into the mathematical expression below:

 

2 ( X - 58) = X + 497 - 58

 

2X -  116  = X + 439

 

X - 116 = 439

 

X = 555 ft (Washington Monument)

 

 

X + 497  = 555 + 497 = 1052 ft (Eiffel Tower)