An electrician cuts a 16 foot piece of wire in a two pieces one piece is 12 ft longer than the other how long are the pieces

Question

Applications with equations

Answer 1

Set up a system of equations:

Let x and y each be a length of wire

x + y = 16

x = y + 12

Substitute the second equation into the first equation and solve:

x + y = 16

(y + 12) + y = 16

2y + 12 = 16

2y = 4

y = 2

Now that we know one variable, solve for the other:

x = y + 12 = 2 + 12 = 14

The wires are 2 feet and 14 feet long