Write an expression to show y minus the quantity x minus 11

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

The question is kind of confusing. if it's asking how many variations of answers can you give. then do 4^5 for your answer.this would be something like the first question could be a and the 2nd c or first b next c etc. if you can, ask the teacher for a better confirmation of what it's asking. if i'm assuming correctly what it's asking, it's 625 different variations.