Question

The first side of a triangle is 8 inches shorter than the second side. The third side is 4 times as long as the first side. The perimeter is 38 inches. What is the length of the longest side.

PLEASE HELP ME I NEED IT NOW

Answer 1

20

Explanation:

Let x be the first side.

Since x is 8 in. shorter than the second side, we know that we'd need to add 8 to x to get the length of the second side. So the second side is

x + 8 .

The third side is 4 times the length of the first side, so the third side is

4 x.

Perimeter is the sum of the sides, so:

( x)+(x+8)+4x=6x+8 (The 6x+8 is just combining like terms from the left side)

We also know the perimeter is 38, so we have:

6 x +8 = 38

subtract 8:

6 x=30

divide:

x =5.

The three sides have length: 5,13 , and 20.

The longest side is 20 inches long.