It can be. Or you could set it up as addition. The acrobat is doing the stuff on the top of the picture. And the total distance is on the bottom of the picture. So you add all the parts on the top and that equals the part on the bottom. 8+x+8+x+8+x=30
Or 3*8+3*x=30
Either way simplifies to 24+3x=30
Subtract the 24 from both sides
3x=6
Divide by the 3 on both sides
X=2
The length of each trick is 2.
