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14 votes
14 votes
Points L, M, and N are collinear.

You are given LM = 13 and LN = 20. What is a possible value of MN?

User Abhin Krishna KA
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1 Answer

29 votes
29 votes

Final answer:

MN has two possible values depending on M's position: 7 units if M is between L and N, or 33 units if N is between L and M, because L, M, and N are collinear.

Step-by-step explanation:

Since points L, M, and N are collinear, this means they lie on the same straight line. Given that LM is 13 units and LN is 20 units, we can determine a possible value for MN by understanding that the distance between two points on a line is the absolute difference of their distances from a common point.

If M is between L and N, MN would be LN - LM, which is 20 - 13. Therefore, MN would equal 7 units. However, if M is not between L and N, and N lies between L and M, then MN would be the sum of LM and LN, which is 13 + 20, giving us MN equaling 33 units.

The possible value of MN can be either 7 units or 33 units, depending on the position of M relative to L and N on the straight line.

User Shrabanee
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