A piece of fabric is 52 inches long. You cut the fabric into two pieces. The first piece is x inches long. The second is 14 inches longer than the first. Draw a diagram & solve for x.
x + x + 14 = 52
2x = 38
x = 19 inches
yes I got it right. Thankyou Ms.Sue (:
You're welcome, Olivia.
To solve this problem, we will first create a diagram to represent the situation.
Let's assume that the first piece is x inches long. The second piece is 14 inches longer than the first piece, so its length would be (x + 14) inches.
The sum of the lengths of the two pieces should be equal to the original length of the fabric, which is 52 inches. This can be represented by the equation:
x + (x + 14) = 52
Now, we can solve this equation to find the value of x.
Combining like terms:
2x + 14 = 52
Subtracting 14 from both sides:
2x = 38
Dividing both sides by 2:
x = 19
So, the first piece of fabric is 19 inches long.
To summarize the steps to solve the problem:
1. Assign a variable (x) to represent the length of the first piece.
2. Use the given information to express the length of the second piece in terms of x (x + 14).
3. Set up an equation by equating the sum of the lengths of the two pieces to the original length of the fabric (x + x + 14 = 52).
4. Solve the equation for x by combining like terms and isolating x.
5. Calculate the value of x to find the length of the first piece (x = 19).