Sara is building a triangular pen for her pet rabbit. If two of the sides measure 8 feet and 15 feet, the length of the third side could be
2007-09-30 11:03:16 · 2 answers · asked by Andreas 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
The length of the third side could be many things. Is the triangle right? If so, and the legs are 8ft and 15ft, the hypotenuse is 17ft. If the hypotenuse is 8ft, the third leg is 12.68857754....ft.
However, if the triangle is not right, you have to use the law of cosines.
2007-09-30 11:17:56 · answer #1 · answered by Andy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The third side could be almost any length, from one inch to just under 23 feet. There should be at least one other condition given in the problem. For example, if it has to be a right-angled triangle, then you also need to specify if the 15-foot side is the hypotenuse or one of the short sides. If you want the greatest area, that makes it considerably more difficult.
2007-09-30 18:14:17 · answer #2 · answered by TitoBob 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋