Maureen cut a 20-cm ribbon into exactly three pieces. The first piece is 3 cm shorter than the second piece. The third piece is 4 cm shorter than the second piece. Find the length of the shortest piece.

Question

anonymous · Answer

set :

x= length of 2nd piece in cm
x- 3= length of 1st piece in cm
x-4= length of 3rd piece in cm


then since you know they all came from the 20 cm ribbon you add them together and set them equal to 20

x+ x-3 +x-4 = 20

3x - 7= 20
3x= 27

x= 9

the shortest piece is the third piece which is x- 4

x-4
9-4 = 5

The length of the smallest piece is 5 cm.

the other lengths are
9 cm
6 cm