After 12 centimeters had been cut from a piece of lumber, c centimeters were left. Represent the length of the original piece of lumber.

add what was cut off to what was left to get the original length, right?

To represent the length of the original piece of lumber, we can use the following equation:

Original length of lumber - Length cut = Length remaining

Let's assign variables to the given information:
Original length of lumber = x (unknown value)
Length cut = 12 centimeters
Length remaining = c centimeters

Substituting these variables into the equation, we get:
x - 12 = c

Therefore, the length of the original piece of lumber can be represented as x.