Question

need help on this one:

A leather coin purse has the shape of a triangle. Two sides are equal in length and the third side is 3 centimeters shorter than one and one half times the length of the equal sides. The perimeter is 28.5 centimeters. Find the lengths of the sides.

Answer 1

let x be equal sides and y be remaining side
given the info, y=1.5x-3
and the perimeter of the triangle is x+x+y=28.5
=x+x+1.5x-3=28.5
=x+x+1.5x=31.5
=3.5x=31.5
=x/3.5=31.3/3.5
x=9
y= 1.5 X 9-3=10.5