Weird problem

Question

A plumber has two pipes. One pipe is 7 times as long as the other pipe. He cuts 2.2 meters from the longer pipe. The remaining length of the pipe is 3 times that of the shorter pipe. Find the length of the shorter pipe in meters

Answer 1

Think of the lengths in units.  If the shorter pipe is 1 unit, then the longer pipe is 7 units (7xthe shorter pipe).  After the plumber cuts some off, the longer pipe is only 3 units (3xthe shorter pipe).  So the length of piece cut off is 7 - 3 = 4 units, which is 2.2m long, so

 

4 units = 2.2 meters

1 unit = 0.55 meters

 

So the shorter pipe is 0.55 meters in length.