Theresa has two brothers, Paul and Steve, who are both the same height. Paul says he is inches shorter than times Theresa’s height. Steve says he is inches shorter than times Theresa’s height. If they are both right, how tall is Theresa? To solve a problem like this one, you can use a linear equation where the variable represents Theresa’s height in inches. Let represent Theresa’s height in inches.

Now you will use the two expressions from question 1 to create an equation. Then you will solve it to find Theresa’s height, and then Paul’s and Steve’s height.

If Paul and Steve are the same height and they are both correct, write an equation to represent this relationship. Put Paul’s expression on the left side of the equal sign and Steve’s expression on the right.