Adam has a wire which is 430 cm long.
He cuts the wire into 3 pieces.
The first piece is 4 times as long as the second piece.
The third piece is 420 cm long.
- Find the total length of the first and third pieces.
- Find the difference in length between the second and the third piece.
(a)
Focus on the sentence with the word '
times'.
Assign 1 u to the variable that is found after the word '
times'.
Length of second piece = 1 u
Length of first piece = 4 u
Length of third piece = 420 cm
Length of the second and the third pieces
= 430 - 420
= 10 cm
4 u + 1 u = 10
5 u = 10
1 u = 10 ÷ 5 = 2
Total length of the first and third pieces
= 4 u + 420
= 4 x 2 + 420
= 8 + 420
= 428 cm
(b)
Difference in length between the second and the third piece
= 420 - 2
= 418 cm
Answer(s): (a) 428 cm; (b) 418 cm