The question is that this girl has a ribbon that is 48.5 cm long. she has it cute into 2 pieces. one of the pieces is 4 times longer than the other. how long is are the pieces. i don't necessarily want the answer. more of an explanation on how to solve.

one length is 24.7 cm

The other length is 20.7

Step-by-step explanation:

Let x represent the length of one piece of the ribbon.

Let y represent the length of the other piece of the ribbon.

The length of the ribbon that the girl has is 48.5 cm. This means that

x + y = 45.5

She has it cut into 2 pieces. One of the pieces is 4 times longer than the other. This means that

x = y + 4

Substituting x = y + 4 into x + y = 45.5, it becomes

y + 4 + y = 45.5

2y + 4 = 45.5

2y = 45.4 - 4 = 41.4

y = 41.4/2 = 20.7 cm

x = y + 4 = 20.7 + 4 = 24.7 cm