SSAT Upper Level Math : How to find the length of the side of an acute / obtuse triangle

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Upper Level Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Acute / Obtuse Triangles

The perimeter of the triangle is , and two of the sides are given. What is the length of the third side?

5

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Add up all the sides to find the perimeter of the triangle.

Let  be the length of the third side.

The length of the third side is .

Example Question #32 : Acute / Obtuse Triangles

A triangle has side lenghts of , and . The perimeter of this triangle is . Find the length of the shortest side.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Add up all the sides to find the perimeter of the triangle.

Now, we plug in the value of  into  to find the length of the shortest side.

The length of the shortest side is .

Example Question #131 : Properties Of Triangles

The lengths of a triangle with a perimeter of  are . Find the length of the longest side.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Add up all the sides to find the perimeter.

.

Plugging this value into the sides we get:

The side lengths of the triangle are .

The length of the longest side is .

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