29.3k views
4 votes
Determine the range of side lengths for the third side of a triangle if the first two lengths are 23 feet and 74 feet.

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

51 to 97 feet

Explanation:

You want the range of lengths possible for the third side of a triangle with side lengths 23 ft and 74 ft.

Third side

The third side of the triangle must lie between the difference and the sum of the other two sides.

minimum length: 74 -23 = 51

maximum length: 74 +23 = 97

The third side of the triangle must be between 51 and 97 feet long.

__

Additional comment

These limits come from the triangle inequality, which says the sum of any two sides must exceed the length of the third side. In this case, that means the side lengths cannot be 51 or 97 feet, but can be arbitrarily close to those values.

Some authors tell you the triangle inequality says the sum of two sides must be at least the length of the third side. In that case, the limit values are included in the range of possibilities. Triangles with those side lengths will have an area of zero, and will look like a line segment.

<95141404393>

User Dan Milburn
by
7.6k points