Steven cuts a 25-foot board into 2 pieces. One piece is 4 feet more than 2 times the length of the second piece. What is the length of the second, shorter, piece of the board?

feet

1 answer

Let the length of the shorter piece be denoted as \( x \) feet. According to the problem, the longer piece is 4 feet more than 2 times the length of the shorter piece. Therefore, the length of the longer piece can be expressed as:

\[ 2x + 4 \]

The total length of the board is 25 feet. This gives us the equation:

\[ x + (2x + 4) = 25 \]

Now, simplify the equation:

\[ x + 2x + 4 = 25 \]

Combine like terms:

\[ 3x + 4 = 25 \]

Next, subtract 4 from both sides:

\[ 3x = 21 \]

Now, divide both sides by 3 to solve for \( x \):

\[ x = 7 \]

Thus, the length of the second, shorter piece of the board is:

\[ \boxed{7} \text{ feet.} \]

To check our work, we can find the length of the longer piece:

\[ 2x + 4 = 2(7) + 4 = 14 + 4 = 18 \text{ feet.} \]

Now, let's verify that the total length is 25 feet:

\[ 7 + 18 = 25 \text{ feet.} \]

Everything checks out, so the length of the second, shorter piece is indeed \( \boxed{7} \) feet.