math help!?

Question

my daughter has a math problem that neither of us can figure out! if anyone can just give us some pointers as to how to get the answer, that would be great!!

one side of an equilateral triangle increased by 13 is 31 less than three times the other side. if the sides are measured in inches, what are the measures of the three sides of the triangle?

again, thanks!

Answer 1

All sides of an equilateral triangle are the same.

Suppose each side is length a.

a + 13 = 3a - 31

a + 13 + (31 - a) = 3a - 31 + (31- a)

44 = 2a

a = 22

Answer 2

All sides have the same measure (because it is an equilateral triangle). So, "x" stands for the measure of one side.

1) Set up the equation: X+13=3x-31
2) Subtract X from both sides: 13=2x-31
3) Add 31 to both sides: 44=2x
4) Divide both sides by 2: 22=x

Each side is 22 inches long. If you want to check the answer, just plug it into the original equation: 22+13=3(22)-31. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

its an equalateral triangle so the sides are all the same length...call it 'x' the problem states that one side increased by 13 is 31 less than 3 times the other side....so we get this equation

x +13 = 3x-31 should be easy to solve for x...

Answer 4

sbjnyc is correct. Each side is 22 inches. A couple people were on the right track, but did odd things with the math. Look at sbjnyc's work, in which "a" represents each side of the triangle.

Answer 5

3x-31=x+13
2x=44
x=22

3(22)-31=35
22+13=35

All three sides measure 35 because equilateral triangle has 3 congruent sides.

Answer 6

x + 13 = (3x) -31

2x = 44
x = 44 / 2 inches

solve x.

sub x back in to find new length

things to consider on how I got this equation.

equilateral triangles have equal sides

Answer 7

x + 13 = 3x - 31
2x = 42
x = 21

all sides are 21 inches

Answer 8

Bagels.