Question

A 70 cm long wire is to be cut into two pieces so that one piece will be 2/5th of the other, how many centimeters will the shorter piece be?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Let two pieces of the wire be x and y, such that:

$x + y = 70.....(1) \\ \& \: \\ x = \frac{2}{5} y.....(2) \\ from \: equations \: (1) \: and \: (2) \\ \frac{2}{5} y + y = 70 \\ \therefore \: \frac{7}{5} y = 70 \\ \therefore \: y = \frac{70 \times 5}{7} \\ \huge \red{ \boxed{\therefore \: y =50 \: cm}} \\ \implies \: x = \frac{2}{5} \times 50 \\ \implies \: x = 2 \times 10\\ \implies \: \huge \purple{ \boxed{x = 20 \: cm}}$

Thus, the shorter piece is 20 cm long.