Given that:
A 15-foot log is cut into two pieces.
Longer piece is 1.5 feet shorter than twice the shorter piece.
Solution:
Let the length of shorter piece be x feet. So,
Length of longer piece = 2x-1.5 feet
Total length = x+(2x-1.5) feet
Now,
[tex]x+(2x-1.5)=15[/tex]
[tex]3x-1.5=15[/tex]
[tex]3x=15+1.5[/tex]
[tex]3x=16.5[/tex]
[tex]x=\dfrac{16.5}{3}[/tex]
[tex]x=5.5[/tex].
So, length of shorter piece is 5.5 feet.
[tex](2x-1.5)=2(5.5)-1.5[/tex]
[tex](2x-1.5)=11-1.5[/tex]
[tex](2x-1.5)=9.5[/tex]
So, length of longer piece is 9.5 feet.
