Writing the length, in feet, of the shortest piece as a variable x, we know that the longest piece is two times the shortest piece, or 2x. Next, we know that the middle sized piece is four feet longer than the shortest piece, or x+4. Therefore, as all the pieces add up to 24 feet, we have x+2x+x+4=4x+4=24. Using the Subtraction Property of Equality and subtracting 4 from both sides, we get 4x=20. Using the Division Property of Equality next, we can divide both sides by 4 to get x=5, making the shortest side, or x, equal to 5
Feel free to ask further questions!
