A 52​-inch pipe is cut into two pieces. One piece is three times the length of the other. Find the length of the shorter piece.

Answer:The length of the shorter piece is  13 inchesStep-by-step explanation:Let's represent the longer piece of pipe with the variable L and the shorter piece of pipe with variable S.Since the pipe is going to be the length of  L and S together, we can make this equation:L+S=52Also we know that the longer piece is three times the shorter piece orL=3SSubstitute the second equation into the first equation.L+S=523S+S=524S=52Divide both sides by 44S/4=52/4S=13 inchesThe length of the shorter piece is 13 inches....To find the length of longer piece, put the value S=13 in L=3SL=3SL=3(13)L=39 inchesThe length of the longer piece is 39 inches....