Question

I'm in Geometry and one of the questions that has me stumped is "If YZ = 1 5/8 inches and XZ = 3 inches, find XY."

Answer 1

Since y is between x and z, so

XZ is the total length of XY and YZ

$XZ=XY+YZ$

Since XZ = 3 inches

YZ = 1 5/8 = 1.625 inches

Substitute them in the equation above

$3=XY+1.625$

Subtract 1.625 from both sides to find XY

$\begin{gathered} 3-1.625=XY+1.625-1.625 \\ 1.375=XY \end{gathered}$

XY = 1.375 = 1 3/8