Adam has a ribbon which is 240 cm long.
He cuts the ribbon into 3 pieces.
The first piece is 3 times as long as the second piece.
The third piece is 200 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 = 3 u
Length of third piece = 200 cm
Length of the second and the third pieces
= 240 - 200
= 40 cm
3 u + 1 u = 40
4 u = 40
1 u = 40 ÷ 4 = 10
Total length of the first and third pieces
= 3 u + 200
= 3 x 10 + 200
= 30 + 200
= 230 cm
(b)
Difference in length between the second and the third piece
= 200 - 10
= 190 cm
Answer(s): (a) 230 cm; (b) 190 cm