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Question

Using a table of a certain height, two identical blocks of wood are placed as shown in Figure 1. Length r is found to be 32 inches. After rearranging the blocks as in Figure 2, length s is found to be 28 inches. How high is the table? FIGURE

Accepted Answer

Let h, l, and w represent the height of the table and the length and width of the wood blocks, respectively, in inches. From Figure 1, we have l+h-w=32, and from Figure 2, w+h-l=28. Adding the equations gives 2h=60 h=30, which is 30 inches.