Adam cut a piece of string 42 inches long into 2 pieces. The ratio of the length of the 2 peices is 3:4, what is the length, to the nearest inch, of the shorter piece

Shorter piece length is 18 inches

Step-by-step explanation:

Let's marked first piece with x and second with y

x + y = 42

Given ratio is x : y = 3 : 4

From this proportion we get

x = 3 c and y = 4 c where c is coefficient of proportionality

when we replace this in initial equation we get

3 c + 4 c = 42 = > 7 c = 42 = > c = 42/7 = 6 c = 6

x = 3 · 6 = 18 inches and z = 4 · 6 = 24 inches

shorter piece is x = 18 inches

God with you!