The perimeter of an isosceles triangle is 25 cm. Find the lengths of the sides of the triangle if its side
The perimeter of an isosceles triangle is 25 cm. Find the lengths of the sides of the triangle if its side is 5 cm larger than the base.
Let x denote the length of the base of this isosceles triangle.
According to the condition of the problem, the lateral side of this isosceles triangle is 5 cm larger than its base, therefore, the lateral side of this triangle is equal to:
x + 5 cm.
It is also known that the perimeter of this triangle is 25 cm, therefore, we can draw up the following equation:
x + x + 5 + x + 5 = 25.
We solve the resulting equation:
3 * x + 10 = 25;
3 * x = 25 – 10;
3 * x = 15;
x = 15/3;
x = 5 cm.
Knowing the length of the base x, we find the lateral side of this isosceles triangle:
x + 5 = 5 + 5 = 10 cm.
Answer: the base of this isosceles triangle is 5 cm, its lateral side is 10 cm.