Two snails are crawling towards each other across the path. One crawled 9 cm, and the second

Two snails are crawling towards each other across the path. One crawled 9 cm, and the second – 2 cm less before meeting each other. How wide is the path?

We need to define the width of the path. To do this, we need to sum up the distance that the first and second snails crawled, respectively. That is, the width of the path can be found as:

S = S1 + S2

From the condition of the problem, we know that the first snail crawled a distance equal to S1 = 9 cm. And the second snail covered the distance 2 cm less than the first. That is, the second snail crawled: S2 = S1 – 2 = 9 – 2 = 7 cm.

In this case, we get that the width of the path will be equal to:

S = S1 + S2 = 9 + 7 = 16 cm