how to work it out

Question

a 40 inch board is to be cut into three piece so that the second piece is twice as long as the first piece and the third piece is 5 times as long as the first piece. If x represents the length of the first piece find the lengths of all three pieces.

Answer 1

x = length of piece 1

2x = length of piece 2

5x = length of piece 3

 

x + 2x + 5x = 40

8x = 40

x = 40/8

x = 5 inches for piece 1

2x = 10 inches for piece 2

5x = 25 inches for piece 3