SOLUTION: A leather coin purse has the shape of a triangle. Two sides are equl in length and the third side is 3 centimeters shorter than one and one-half times the length of the equal side

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Question 230874: A leather coin purse has the shape of a triangle. Two sides are equl in length and the third side is 3 centimeters shorter than one and one-half times the length of the equal sides. The perimeter is 28.5 centimeters. Find the lengths ofthe sides.
Answer by unlockmath(1688) About Me  (Show Source):
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Hello,
Let the two sides that are equal to each other be represented by x
The third side will be written as 1.5x - 3.
These sides add up to 28.5 Cm
So an equation can be written as:

x + x + 1.5x -3 = 28.5 cm
Combine like terms:
3.5x - 3 = 28.5
Add 3 to both sides:
3.5x = 31.5
Divide each side by 3.5:
x = 9
Therefore the lengths of the sides are 9 cm, 9 cm and 10.5 cm
RJ Toftness
Author of "Unlock the Mystery to Math"
www.math-unlock.com