A 6-ft. board is cut into

Question

A 6-ft. board is cut into two pieces so that one piece is 2 feet longer than 3 times the shorter piece. If the shorter piece is x feet long, find the lengths of both pieces.

Answer 1

the value of the shorter piece is = x

 

since it says the longer piece is 2 feet longer than 3 times the shorter piece,

you can create the expression  3x + 2

 

those two pieces = 6 feet, so now you can create an equation and solve:

 

x + 3x + 2 = 6.

 

once you solve for x (smaller piece), plug in the value to the other expression to find the length of longer side as well