Question 1169604
<font color=black size=3>
L = length of wire in cm


A square has 4 sides that are all equal, so each side is L/4 cm long.


An equilateral triangle has all 3 sides equal, so each side is L/3 cm long.


We're told that "the length of a side of the square is 5 cm shorter than that of the equilateral triangle" so,


(side length of square) = (side length of triangle) - 5
L/4 = L/3 - 5
12*(L/4) = 12*(L/3 - 5) 
3L = 4L - 60
3L-4L  = -60
-L  = -60
L = 60
In the third step shown above, I multiplied both sides by the LCD 12 to clear out the fractions


The length of the wire is L = 60 cm.
The square side length is L/4 = 60/4 = 15 cm.
The equilateral triangle side length is L/3 = 60/3 = 20 cm.
We see that the square's side length is 5 cm shorter compared to the triangle. This confirms our answer.


Answer: The wire is 60 cm long.
</font>