a stick is cut so that one part is 2/3 of the length of the other. how long, inches, is the shorter part?
How long was the stick originally?
That was not given.
Thank you.
To determine the length of the shorter part of the stick, we first need to know the length of the entire stick. Let's assign a variable to represent the length of the stick.
Let's say the length of the stick is x inches.
According to the given information, one part of the stick is 2/3 of the length of the other part. So, if we divide the stick into two parts, one part will be 2/3 times the length of the other part.
Let's call the length of the shorter part "y" inches. In this case, the length of the longer part will be (2/3) times "y".
Given that information, we can set up the following equation:
y + (2/3)y = x
Combining like terms:
(5/3)y = x
To solve for "y" (the length of the shorter part), we can multiply both sides of the equation by (3/5):
y = (3/5)x
So, the length of the shorter part of the stick is (3/5) times the length of the entire stick.
If you know the length of the entire stick (x), you can multiply it by (3/5) to find the length of the shorter part (y).