How long are the 2 pieces?

Question

a 72 inch board is cut into 2 pieces. One piece is 36 inches longer than the other. How long are the 2 pieces?

Answer 1

72-x and x are the two pieces.

suppose x is the shorter of the two lengths; then x+36 = 72-x; 2x = 36; x=18, using Algebra.