a 23 foot cable is cut into two pieces, one three times as long as the other. how long are the pieces?

3d+d=23

d=23/4=5.75 feet
3d= you do it.

Let's represent the length of the shorter piece as 'x'.

According to the given information, the longer piece is three times as long as the shorter piece. Hence, the length of the longer piece is 3x.

The sum of the lengths of both pieces should be equal to the total length of the cable, which is 23 feet.

Therefore, we can form the equation: x + 3x = 23.

Combining like terms, we get: 4x = 23.

To solve for 'x', we divide both sides of the equation by 4: x = 23/4.

Calculating this, we find that x ≈ 5.75 feet.

Now, to determine the length of the longer piece: 3x = 3(5.75) = 17.25 feet.

Hence, the shorter piece is approximately 5.75 feet long, while the longer piece is approximately 17.25 feet long.

To solve this problem, we can use algebra to represent the lengths of the two pieces of the cable. Let's say the length of the shorter piece is x feet.

According to the given information, the longer piece is three times as long as the shorter piece. This can be represented as 3x.

We also know that the sum of the lengths of the two pieces is 23 feet. So, we can write an equation:

x + 3x = 23

Combining the like terms, we get:

4x = 23

Now, we can solve for x by dividing both sides of the equation by 4:

x = 23 / 4

Performing the division, we find:

x = 5.75

Therefore, the shorter piece is 5.75 feet long. To find the length of the longer piece, we can substitute the value of x back into the equation:

3x = 3 * 5.75 = 17.25

So, the longer piece is 17.25 feet long.

In summary, the shorter piece is 5.75 feet long, and the longer piece is 17.25 feet long.