Point R is the midpoint of line segment XY. If XR=3n+1 and YR=16-2n, what is the length of line segment XY?


Please explain your work.

Verified Answer :

1) 3n+1=16-2n

  • add 2n to both sides
  • you should now be left with 5n+1=16

(remember the 2n gets canceled out)

  • subtract 1 from both sides
  • you should now be left with 5n=15
  • now you divide by 5 to get n by itself
  • 15 divided by 5 is 3
  • n=3

2) substitute n with 3 in to the original equation

  • so 3n+1=16-2n now becomes 3(5)+1=16-2(3)
  • you should get 10 for both so 10=10

3) according to the segment addition postualte , XR + YR = XY.

  • add 10+10 which stands for the lengths of XR and YR

Answer - XY = 20