40 POINTS WorthThe lengths of two sides of a triangle are 14 inches and 4 inches. Which of the following dimensions is the third side of this triangle? 10 inches 11 inches 8 inches 9 inchesExplain how
Accepted Solution
A:
Is this a right triangle or not? If it's a right triangle, you could use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of the 3rd side, which would be the hypotenuse. Thus, 14^2 + 4^2 = c^2, where c is the length of the hypot.
Then 196 + 16 = 212, and this is c^2. Then c, the length of the hypotenuse, is sqrt 212, or approx. 14.6 inches.
This does not agree with any of the four possible answers. Thus, you must look at each of these possible answers and eliminate any that could not be correct.
for example: if you take 10 inches and add 4 inches, you get 14 inches. The result would not be a triangle, but rather a straight line.