The point P(7, −3) lies on the curve y = 3/(6 − x). (a) If Q is the point (x, 3/(6 − x)), use your calculator to find the slope mPQ of the secant line PQ (correct to six decimal places) for the following values of x. (i) 6.9 mPQ = 1

Best answer that i found on yahoo ok   set :   x= length of 2nd piece in cm  x- 3= length of 1st piece in cm  x-4= length of 3rd piece in cm  then since you know they all came from the 20 cm ribbon you add them together and set them equal to 20x+ x-3 +x-4 = 20  3x - 7= 20  3x= 27  x= 9  the shortest piece is the third piece which is x- 4  x-4  9-4 = 5  the length of the smallest piece is 5 cm.  the other lengths are  9 cm  6 cm