SOLUTION: Hi ! I solved a word problem yesterday without any help and I was very pleased with myself. However I am just not feeling this problem. Please help me? "One side of a triangle

Algebra ->  Coordinate Systems and Linear Equations  -> Lessons -> SOLUTION: Hi ! I solved a word problem yesterday without any help and I was very pleased with myself. However I am just not feeling this problem. Please help me? "One side of a triangle       Log On


   

Question 9773: Hi !
I solved a word problem yesterday without any help and I was very pleased with myself. However I am just not feeling this problem. Please help me? "One side of a triangle is 2cm shorter than the base. The other side is 3cm longer than the base. WHAT LENGHTS OF THE BASE WILL ALLOW THE PERIMETER TO BE GREATER THAN 19 CM?"
Answer by Earlsdon(6294) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Try this:
Let b cm = the length of the base.
The short side of the triangle would be (b-2) cm.
The long side of the triangle would be (b+3) cm
The perimeter is found by adding the three sides of the triangle, but you want this to be > 19 cm.
So, you can write:
b+%2B%28b-2%29+%2B%28b%2B3%29+%3E+19 Solve this inequality for b.
3b+%2B1+%3E+19 Subtract 1 from both sides.
3b+%3E+18 Divide both sides by 3.
b+%3E+6
The length of the base would have to be greater than 6 cm in order for the perimeter of this triangle to be greater than 19 cm.
Check:
Try b = 7 cm (since 7 > 6)
7 + (7-2) + (7+3) = 7 + 5 + 10 = 22 and 22 > 19