A three foot long deli sandwich must be split into three pieces so that the middle piece is twice as long as the shortest piece, and the shortest piece is 8 inches shorter than the longest piece. How long should the three pieces be?

Step-by-step explanation:

Let us represent:

Short pieces = x

Middle pieces = y

Long pieces = z

A three foot long deli sandwich must be split into three pieces

x + y + z = 3

The middle piece is twice as long as the shortest piece

y = 2x

The shortest piece is 8 inches shorter than the longest piece.

x = z - 8

z = x + 8

We substitute

x + y + z = 3

x + 2x + x + 8 = 3

5x = 8 - 3

5x = 5

x = 5/5

x = 1

y = 2x

y = 2 × 1

y = 2

z = x + 8

z = 1 + 8

z = 7

How long should the three pieces be?