What are the measurements of the sides of the triangle?

Question

One side of a triangle is 14 cm more than the smallest side. The third side of the triangle is 3 times as large as the smallest side. The perimeter of the triangle is 39 cm. What are the measurements of the sides of the triangle?

Answer 1

Let x be the measurement of the smallest side in cm, then

x + 14 and 3x are the measurements of the other two sides.

 

Perimeter = the sum of all sides = 39 cm, therefore

 

x +(x+14) + 3x = 39

            5x + 14 = 39

                    5x = 25

                      x = 5

 

So the measurements of the sides of the triangle are 5 cm, 19 cm and 15 cm.