Use the associative property to simplify the expression. A. 59 + 40 + 80 = 99 + 80 = 179
B. 59 - 10x4 + 8) = 59 + 10(12) = 59 + 120 = 179 C. 59 + 140 +80) = 59 + 120 = 179
D. 50 + 80 + 40 = 139 + 40 = 179

The answer would be choice b

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