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A rope 40 feet long is cut into two pieces. If one piece is

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by Jay@ManhattanReview » Mon Jul 30, 2018 10:56 pm
BTGmoderatorDC wrote:A rope 40 feet long is cut into two pieces. If one piece is 18 feet longer than the other, what is the length, in feet, of the shorter piece?

(A) 9
(B) 11
(C) 18
(D) 22
(E) 29
Say the shorter piece is x feet long; thus, the longer piece is (x + 18) feet long

=> x + (x + 18) = 40

=> x = 11 feet

The correct answer: B

Hope this helps!

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by swerve » Tue Jul 31, 2018 10:05 am
Let s be the shortest piece
Let the longer piece b s+18

s + s + 18 = 40
2s + 18 = 40
2s = 22
s = 11.

Hence, B is the correct answer. Regards!
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by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:36 pm
BTGmoderatorDC wrote:A rope 40 feet long is cut into two pieces. If one piece is 18 feet longer than the other, what is the length, in feet, of the shorter piece?

(A) 9
(B) 11
(C) 18
(D) 22
(E) 29
We can let L = the length of the longer piece of rope and S = the length of the shorter piece of rope.

We are given that the rope is 40 feet long. Translating this into an equation, we have:

L + S = 40

Next, we are given that one piece is 18 feet longer than the other. Translating this into an equation, we have:

L = 18 + S

We can now substitute 18 + S from the second equation for L in the first equation. We have:

18 + S + S = 40

2S = 22

S = 11

The shorter piece of rope is 11 feet.

Answer: B

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Aug 01, 2018 4:26 pm
BTGmoderatorDC wrote:A rope 40 feet long is cut into two pieces. If one piece is 18 feet longer than the other, what is the length, in feet, of the shorter piece?

(A) 9
(B) 11
(C) 18
(D) 22
(E) 29
We can also test the answer choices

Start with the middle answer choice C

C) 18
If the shorter piece is 18 feet long, then the longer piece is 36 feet long
Sum of lengths = 18 + 36 = 54
NO GOOD. We want a sum of 40 feet (as per the question)
So, we can ELIMINATE C.
Also, since we need the two pieces to be SHORTER, we can also ELIMINATE D and E

Now try answer choice B
B) 11
If the shorter piece is 11 feet long, then the longer piece is 29 feet long
Sum of lengths = 11 + 29 = 40
PERFECT!!!

Answer: B

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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