SOLUTION: an isosceles triangle has a base of 10 units. If the congruent sides have whole number measures what is the least possible length of the sides? A)5 B)6 C)17 D)21

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Question 253926: an isosceles triangle has a base of 10 units. If the congruent sides have whole number measures what is the least possible length of the sides?
A)5 B)6 C)17 D)21
Answer by MRperkins(300) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
If the base is 10 and the two congruent sides were each 5. Then you would have a segment addition postulate (meaning that they are all on the same line). You would not have a triangle, you would have a line segment. Therefore, the sum of the 2 sides is greater than 10. So what is the smallest number that will satisfy this?
s+s>b
b=10
s+s>10
2s>10
s>5
.