SOLUTION: If the lengths of two sides of an isosceles triangle measure 4 and 17 what is the perimeter of the triangle

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Question 851040: If the lengths of two sides of an isosceles triangle measure 4 and 17 what is the perimeter of the triangle
Answer by ramkikk66(644) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
If the lengths of two sides of an isosceles triangle measure 4 and 17 what is the perimeter of the triangle
Solution:
In an isosceles triangle, 2 sides are equal.
Since 2 sides are given as 4 and 17, the 3rd side has to be either 4 or 17.
Also in any triangle, sum of 2 sides has to be greater than the 3rd side.
So, in this case, the 3rd side CANNOT be 4, since 4 + 4 is not greater than 17.
So the 3rd side has to be only 17. The 3 sides are 4, 17 and 17.
Perimeter is the sum of the 3 sides - you can work it out  to get 4 + 17 + 17 = 38.

Hope this helps :)