A stick 111 inches long is broken into two pieces, so that one piece is twice as long as the other. How long are the two pieces?

Answer 1

Vernice,

Let's take this step by step.

The entire stick, after it is broken, becomes two sticks. The length of two sticks together is equal to the length of the entire stick. Putting that numerically ...

The 111 inch stick is equal to two pieces. If we call one piece "x" ... and the other piece is twice as long as the one piece, then it must be "2x."

Shortening that (to all numbers and variables), we get this:

2x + x = 111

So that means that 3x = 111.

Divide each side by 3, and we find that ...

x = 111/3 = 37

If x = 37, then 2x = 74, right?

Let's check that.

Does a stick of 37 inches, when added to a stick of 74 inches, equal the length of the original stick (111 inches)?

37 + 74 = 111 Yes!