An electrician cuts a 50 ft. piece of wire into 3 pieces. The first piece is 4ft. longer than the second piece. The third piece is 2 ft. shorter than the second piece. How long are the pieces?
(x + 4) + x + (x - 2) = 50
3 x + 2 = 50
1st. piece = X.
2nd piece = x-4.
3rd piece = x-4-2 = x-6.
x + x-4 + x-6 = 50
3x = 60
X = 20 Ft.
x-4 =
x-6 =
To solve this problem, we can set up a system of equations based on the given information:
Let x be the length of the second piece of wire.
According to the problem, the first piece is 4ft. longer than the second piece, so its length is x + 4.
The third piece is 2 ft. shorter than the second piece, so its length is x - 2.
The sum of the lengths of the three pieces should equal the total length of 50 ft.:
x + (x + 4) + (x - 2) = 50
Now, we can solve this equation to find the value of x, which represents the length of the second piece:
3x + 2 = 50
3x = 48
x = 16
So, the length of the second piece is 16 ft.
We can now calculate the lengths of the other two pieces:
The length of the first piece: x + 4 = 16 + 4 = 20 ft.
The length of the third piece: x - 2 = 16 - 2 = 14 ft.
Therefore, the lengths of the three pieces are 20 ft, 16 ft, and 14 ft, respectively.