i need help figuring this out

Question

One side of triangle is 4 more than 3 times the shortest side. The third side is 25 feet more than the shortest side. The perimeter is 79 . Find all three sides.

Answer 1

USE ALGEBRA!!

 

The three sides can be s, 3s+4, and s+25.

WRITE THE PERIMETER (=79) as sum of the three above expressions; solve for x.

 

Check that such a triangle really can exist (sum of two lesser sides has to exceed longest side).