7ft board is to be cut into three pieces, two equal-length ones and the third
99
in. shorter than each of the other two. If the cutting does not result in any length being lost, how long are the pieces?
The board is 7 feet which is 84 inches.
Do you have a typo regarding that length or the 99 inches?
To find the length of each piece, we can set up the problem as an algebraic equation.
Let's denote the length of the first equal-length piece as 'x'. Since the second equal-length piece is also of the same length, its length will also be 'x'. And the length of the third piece, which is 99 inches shorter than the other two, can be expressed as 'x - 99'.
Since the total length of the board is 7 feet, or 84 inches, we can write the equation:
x + x + (x - 99) = 84
Now, let's solve for 'x':
3x - 99 = 84
3x = 183
x = 61
Therefore, each of the two equal-length pieces will be 61 inches long, and the third piece will be 61 - 99 = -38 inches long.
Now, since the length of a piece cannot be negative, it appears that there is an error in the problem statement. Please double-check the given information to ensure its accuracy.