SOLUTION: Mel's nephew owns a triangular plot of land. The perimeter fence that surrounds the land measures 121 feet. The shortest side is 15 feet longer than one-half of the longest side. T

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Question 190483This question is from textbook
: Mel's nephew owns a triangular plot of land. The perimeter fence that surrounds the land measures 121 feet. The shortest side is 15 feet longer than one-half of the longest side. The second longest side is 4 feet shorter than the longest side. What is the length of each side? Express the given information as an algebraic equation and then solve the equation. You must name the variable used in the equation.
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Answer by solver91311(24713) About Me  (Show Source):
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Let x represent the measure of the longest side.

Then must be the measure of the shortest side.

And must be the measure of the third side.

Since the perimeter is defined as the sum of the measures of the sides, we can write:



Multiply the whole thing by 2 to get rid of that pesky denominator:



Collect like terms:







So the longest side is 44 feet.

The shortest side is feet.

And the third side is 44 - 4 = 40 feet.

Check the answer:

44 + 37 + 40 = 121

Answer checks.

John