A triangular sail has two sides of the same length. The third side is 9 ft shorter than either of the equal sides. The perimeter of the sail is 63 ft. How long is the shortest side?
Answer (2)
a − l e n g t h o n e o f t h e s am e s i d es a − 9 − l e n g t h o f t hi r d s i d e a + a + a − 9 = 63 ∣ a dd 9 a + a + a = 63 + 9 3 a = 72 ∣ d i v i d e b y 3 a = 24 a − 9 = 24 − 9 = 15 T h e s h or t es t s i d e i s 15.
The length of the shortest side of the triangular sail is 15 feet. This was found by determining the lengths of the equal sides and then subtracting 9 feet for the third side. The perimeter condition was used to solve the equations step-by-step.
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