Question

A homeowner wants several small dormers built on his roof to admit light. They will be in the shape of isosceles triangles whose sides will exceed their base by 5 inches. If the perimeter is 100 inches, what are the lengths of the three sides?

The base is a0, and the equal sides are.

Answer 1

Alright so perimeter is just all sides added together. The base is a and the sides can be expressed as a+5

Answer 2

So a+a+5+a+5=100

Answer 3

Can you solve for a?

Answer 4

confuse

Answer 5

Alright the base is "a" and the sides are 5 inches longer than the base. So thats the same as a+5

Answer 6

so it will be a+5+a+5+a+5

Answer 7

4a+5=100

Answer 8

Wait

Answer 9

Take the last 5 off of what you wrote. Let me draw a picture so maybe you can see what im talking about. Give me a second

Answer 10

Because both of those sides are 5 inches longer than the base, which is a

Answer 11

So it would be a+a+5+a+5=100

Answer 12

ok i see now

Answer 13

Alright now solve for a

Answer 14

so what i do now

Answer 15

3a+10=100

Answer 16

Yep now subtract 10 from both sides

Answer 17

And then divide both sides by 3