Question

A carpenter installing cabinets uses thin pieces of material called shims to fill gaps. The carpenter uses four shims to fill a gap that is 1.5 centimeters wide. The widths of three of the shims are 0.75 centimeter, 0.125 centimeter, and 0.1 centimeter. What is the width of the fourth shim?

Answer 1

1.5 = gap

The sum of the four shims must be equal to the width of the gap:

0.75+0.125+0.1+x = 1.5

Where x is the width of the fourth shim.

Solve for x:

x = 1.5-0.75-0.125-0.1

x= 0.525 cm