i am having a hard time setting up a problem:
i need three shelves cut from a single board. longest piece must be twice the size of the shortest piece and the shortest piece must be 15 inches shorter than the middle piece. how long will each of the pieces be if i cut them from a 95inch board?

Question

i am having a hard time setting up a problem:  
i need three shelves cut from a single board.  longest piece must be twice the size of the shortest piece and the shortest piece must be 15 inches shorter than the middle piece.  how long will each of the pieces be if i cut them from a 95inch board?

anonymous · Answer

so i have worked numerous ways...  x-15 is the smallest bd, x as the middle board, and 2(x-15)

mathteacher1729 · Answer

So far so good!  

x = MIDDLE
(x-15) = (fifteen inches shorter than the middle) = SMALLEST
2(x-15) = (twice as long as the shortest) = LONGEST

Now remember, the whole board is 95 inches, so add up those lengths, and set it equal to 95. :) That will give you x, and from there you can substitute that value into the other two expressions to find the shortest and longest pieces. :)

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