The perimeter of an isosceles triangle is 34 cm. The base is 5 cm less than the side. Find the side.

To find the length of the side of an isosceles triangle, we will apply the formula to calculate the perimeter of an isosceles triangle.

P = 2a + b;

a – side, b – base of the triangle.

Let’s denote by x cm the side and (x – 5) cm of the base of the triangle.

Substituting the values into the formula and we get the equation:

2 * x + (x – 5) = 34;

2x + x – 5 = 34;

We solve the linear equation:

2x + x = 34 + 5;

3x = 39;

x = 39: 3;

x = 13 cm lateral and 13 – 5 = 8 cm at the base of the triangle.