For this chain-of-thought reasoning and answer, what was the question?
The rope was cut into 2 + 3 = 5 parts. So each part is 40 / 5 = 8 meters long. Since the shorter part is consists of 2 parts, then it is 8 x 2 = 16 meters long.
 A: 16

Show your work and conclude with the exact phrasing "Therefore, the final answer is [answer]." where [answer] is just the final number or expression that solves the problem.
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Q: A 40 meters rope was cut into 2 parts in the ratio of 2:3. How long is the shorter part?