Could you help me solve this

Question

Building A is 366 meters taller than building B.  If the height of building A is subtracted from twice the height of building B, the result is 56 meters. How tall is each skyscraper?  

 

Height of building A ?

height of building B ? 

 

Answer 1

Hi there Carolyn, 

 

    There is a backwards working solution process to problems like this you may employ. If the end result subtracting two building heigths worth of building B will leave another 56 meter drop or climb up to span the height or depth remaining in building A it would describe a situation algebraically such as 56 + y = 2x, where y = building A's height, 

 

and x = building B's height, which has been doubled (for the word problem).

 

Substituting yields, 56 m + 366 m = 422 m.  So if 422 m represents twice the height of something, building B is correspondingly half that at 211 m. Then, 211 m + 366 m = 577 m.

 

Interesting sequences of digits, the originator likes problems!

 

Thank you for your post.

 

Kind Regards, 

 

Instructor Peter