Katie has a strip of paper 39 inches long. She wants to cut the paper so that one piece is 9 inches shorter than the other. How long should each of the 2 pieces be?
x + x + 9 = 39
2x = 30
x = 15
The shorter piece is 15 inches long.
To find the length of each piece, we can set up an equation based on the given information. Let's say the length of one piece is x inches. Since the other piece is 9 inches shorter, its length would be (x - 9) inches.
According to the problem, Katie has a strip of paper that is 39 inches long. So the sum of the lengths of the two pieces should equal 39 inches.
Therefore, we can write the equation:
x + (x - 9) = 39
Now, let's solve this equation to find the value of x:
2x - 9 = 39 (combined like terms)
2x = 39 + 9 (added 9 to both sides)
2x = 48
x = 48/2 (divided both sides by 2)
x = 24
So, one piece should be 24 inches long (x) and the other piece should be (24 - 9) = 15 inches long.
Therefore, the two pieces should be 24 inches and 15 inches long, respectively.