Need help setting up story problem

thisisnew · #1 $Old$ November 2nd, 2009, 11:57 AM

I need help with setting up this story problem. Thanks!

A piece of wire 120 inches in length it to be cut to form both a rectangle and an isosceles triangle. The rectangles length is three times the width. The base of the triangle is half the length of the rectangle, while the two equal sides are each two inches more than the base. What is the area of the triangle?

skeeter · #2 $Old$ November 2nd, 2009, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thisisnew $View Post$

I need help with setting up this story problem. Thanks!

A piece of wire 120 inches in length it to be cut to form both a rectangle and an isosceles triangle. The rectangles length is three times the width. The base of the triangle is half the length of the rectangle, while the two equal sides are each two inches more than the base. What is the area of the triangle?

W = L/3

b = L/2

s = 2 + (L/2)

120 = 2(L+W) + 2s + b

substitute, solve for L, then use Hero's formula to find the area of the triangle.