Question

One side of a triangle is 3 times longer than the shortest side and the third side is 4 centimeters longer than the shortest side. The perimeter of the triangle is 64.

How long is the shortest side of the triangle?

Answer 1

First side is: 12cm

Second side is: 36cm

Third side is: 16cm

Explanation:

Let x represent the shorter side

Then 3x represents the second side, and

x + 4 represents the third side.

Perimeter of three sides:

P = x + 3x + (x + 4)

Perimeter is 64, so

64 = x + 3x + (x + 4)

64 = 5x + 4

60 = 5x

12 = x

First side is x: 12cm

Second side is 3x: 3(12) = 36cm

Third side is x + 4: 12 + 4 = 16cm