A wire 26 cm long is cut into two pieces.The longer piece is 6 cm longer than the shorter piece

Question

I do not know what to do when it says a wire 26 cm long is cut into two pieces do I divide im completely lost here!

Answer 1

Hello Chris

Let the length of the 2 pieces = L and S

Let L = the longer piece and S = the shorter piece

A wire 26 cm is cut into 2 pieces. This equates to......L + S = 26

The longer piece is 6 cm longer than the shorter piece. This equates to.....L = 6 + S. Substitute this equation into the first one, you get

L + S = 26

6 + S + S = 26

2S = 20

S = 20/2 = 10 cm

L = 6 + S = 6 + 10 = 16 cm

To confirm, L + S = 26

16 + 10 = 26!

Hope the above was helpful.