A Ball of Yarn Puzzle
The Mystery of the Cut Yarn
A ball of yarn is cut into pieces. Each piece is 65 centimeters long.
a. How long was the ball of yarn?
b. How much yarn is left if one piece is given away?
Give your answer in meters and centimeters.
We cannot answer either of those questions without knowing how many pieces are left.
If there are x pieces...
a. 65x, since each piece adds 65 centimeters to the total length.
b. 65(x-1). Same logic as above, except we subtract one from x since we have one less piece of yarn.
Also, make sure you place your question in the right category! You put this question in English, but it looks to me like more of a Math question.
How long was the ball of yarn? How much yarn is left if one piece is given away? We cannot determine the length of the original ball of yarn or the amount of yarn left if one piece is given away without knowing how many pieces are left.