document.write( "Question 27958: Each leg of an isosceles triangle is 4m longer than the base. The perimeter of the triangle is 26m. Find the length of each side. \n" ); document.write( "

Algebra.Com's Answer #15235 by bmauger(101) $\"\"$ $\"About$

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First you need to know a little bit of geometry vocabulary, namely that an isosceles triangle has two sides the same, called legs, and a base that is not similar. The perimeter is defined by the sum of the lengths of all sides, so for an isosceles triangle that would be base+leg1+leg2.
\n" ); document.write( "We'll call the length of the base \"x\" and the problem tells us that each leg is \"4m longer than the base\" so we'll write for each leg \"4+x\".
\n" ); document.write( "When we add them all up we get
\n" ); document.write( " $\"perimeter=base%2Bleg1%2Bleg2\"$ We're told the perimeter is 26.
\n" ); document.write( " $\"26=x%2B%284%2Bx%29%2B%284%2Bx%29\"$ Combining x's and constants:
\n" ); document.write( " $\"26=3x%2B8\"$ Subtract 8 from both sides:
\n" ); document.write( " $\"18=3x\"$ Divide by 3:
\n" ); document.write( " $\"6=x\"$
\n" ); document.write( "So x, the base for this triangle, is 6 and the two legs are 6+4=10. So we have a triangle with sides 6, 10, and 10 with a total perimeter of 26. \n" ); document.write( "

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