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rukna
If each of the sides of a triangle satisfies the equation :-
x^2+18=9x

then the perimeter of the triangle CANNOT be:

A. 9
B. 12
C. 15
D. 18
E. Any of the four values above is possible.


For some reason, I find the fault in question. Can someone please explain. Posted official answer.


HI,
each side satisfies\(x^2+18=9x\)
\(x^2-9x+18=0\)..
\((x-3)(x-6)=0\)..
so x=3 or x=6..
so sides can be 3 or 6...
If all 3, P= 9
if all 6, P = 18
If two sides 6 and third side 3= 2*6+3=15
If two sides 3 and third side 6, P= 2*3+6=12.. BUT is this possible?..
NO,the sum of two sides which are 3 is EQUAL to third side..
so TRIANGLE is not possible, it will be just a straight line measuring 6..
so 12 is not possible

ans B

Could you plz explain the part highlighted in blue?
As to why if the sum of 2 sides is equal to the 3rd,then it cannot be a triangle?
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ishitam
chetan2u
rukna
If each of the sides of a triangle satisfies the equation :-
x^2+18=9x

then the perimeter of the triangle CANNOT be:

A. 9
B. 12
C. 15
D. 18
E. Any of the four values above is possible.


For some reason, I find the fault in question. Can someone please explain. Posted official answer.


HI,
each side satisfies\(x^2+18=9x\)
\(x^2-9x+18=0\)..
\((x-3)(x-6)=0\)..
so x=3 or x=6..
so sides can be 3 or 6...
If all 3, P= 9
if all 6, P = 18
If two sides 6 and third side 3= 2*6+3=15
If two sides 3 and third side 6, P= 2*3+6=12.. BUT is this possible?..
NO,the sum of two sides which are 3 is EQUAL to third side..
so TRIANGLE is not possible, it will be just a straight line measuring 6..
so 12 is not possible

ans B

Could you plz explain the part highlighted in blue?
As to why if the sum of 2 sides is equal to the 3rd,then it cannot be a triangle?

Hi,
If two sides are 3 and third side is 6....AB =BC=3...
So the third side AC has to be less than AB+BC or 6 because than only Point B will make an angle.
When it is 6, it means AC is a straight line and B is the midpoint of the line.
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ishitam
chetan2u
rukna
If each of the sides of a triangle satisfies the equation :-
x^2+18=9x

then the perimeter of the triangle CANNOT be:

A. 9
B. 12
C. 15
D. 18
E. Any of the four values above is possible.


For some reason, I find the fault in question. Can someone please explain. Posted official answer.


HI,
each side satisfies\(x^2+18=9x\)
\(x^2-9x+18=0\)..
\((x-3)(x-6)=0\)..
so x=3 or x=6..
so sides can be 3 or 6...
If all 3, P= 9
if all 6, P = 18
If two sides 6 and third side 3= 2*6+3=15
If two sides 3 and third side 6, P= 2*3+6=12.. BUT is this possible?..
NO,the sum of two sides which are 3 is EQUAL to third side..
so TRIANGLE is not possible, it will be just a straight line measuring 6..
so 12 is not possible

ans B

Could you plz explain the part highlighted in blue?
As to why if the sum of 2 sides is equal to the 3rd,then it cannot be a triangle?

Learn a basic and very important rule:

For a triangle,
Difference of other two sides < third side < sum of other two sides
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rukna
If each of the sides of a triangle satisfies the equation:-
x^2+18=9x.

Could this be reworded better? I don't think that a "side" satisfies an equation. The length of a side can satisfy an equation. How about

"If the length x of any side of a triangle satisfies..."?
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rukna
If each of the sides of a triangle satisfies the equation x^2+18=9x, the perimeter of the triangle CANNOT be:

(A) 9
(B) 12
(C) 15
(D) 18
(E) Any of the four values above is possible.

If x² - 9x + 18 = 0, then (x - 3)(x - 6) = 0 and x = 3 or x = 6, so each side of the triangle is 3 or 6. A 3-3-6 triangle violates our law of triangles, however: remember that the two shorter sides must have a sum greater than the length of the longest side!
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alainca Agreed! The wording is super ambiguous. Are real GMAT questions like this? or is it just veritas prep questions that are frequently ambiguous??


alainca
rukna
If each of the sides of a triangle satisfies the equation:-
x^2+18=9x.

Could this be reworded better? I don't think that a "side" satisfies an equation. The length of a side can satisfy an equation. How about

"If the length x of each side of a triangle satisfies..."?
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chetan2u
rukna
If each of the sides of a triangle satisfies the equation :-
x^2+18=9x

then the perimeter of the triangle CANNOT be:

A. 9
B. 12
C. 15
D. 18
E. Any of the four values above is possible.


For some reason, I find the fault in question. Can someone please explain. Posted official answer.

HI,
each side satisfies\(x^2+18=9x\)
\(x^2-9x+18=0\)..
\((x-3)(x-6)=0\)..
so x=3 or x=6..
so sides can be 3 or 6...
If all 3, P= 9
if all 6, P = 18
If two sides 6 and third side 3= 2*6+3=15
If two sides 3 and third side 6, P= 2*3+6=12.. BUT is this possible?..
NO,the sum of two sides which are 3 is EQUAL to third side..
so TRIANGLE is not possible, it will be just a straight line measuring 6..
so 12 is not possible

ans B

And I thought that here "x" represents the x-coordinate of the vertices! Damn I don't know wat I was thinking. But it should be specified that x represents the length of each sides.
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rukna
If each of the sides of a triangle satisfies the equation x^2+18=9x, the perimeter of the triangle CANNOT be:

(A) 9
(B) 12
(C) 15
(D) 18
(E) Any of the four values above is possible.

Solution:

Let’s solve the given equation:

x^2 - 9x + 18 = 0

(x - 6)(x - 3) = 0

x = 6 or x = 3

If all the sides are 3, then the perimeter is 9. If all the sides are 6, then the perimeter is 18. If two sides are 6 and the third side is 3, then the perimeter is 15. However, it’s not possible that two sides are 3 and the third side is 6 since the sum of any two sides of a triangle must be greater than the third side, but 3 + 3 is not greater than 6. Therefore, the perimeter can’t be 12.

Answer: B

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Official Explanation:

If x² - 9x + 18 = 0, then (x - 3)(x - 6) = 0 and x = 3 or x = 6, so each side of the triangle is 3 or 6. Consider each answer choice to see if it is possible given that restriction on the sides:

(A) POSSIBLE - the triangle could be 3-3-3 (B) NOT POSSIBLE - the triangle cannot be 3-3-6 as this violates the third side rule - remember that the two shorter sides must have a sum greater than the length of the longest side! (C) POSSIBLE - the triangle could be 6-6-3 (D) POSSIBLE - the triangle could be 6-6-6 (E) INCORRECT

Since you need the one answer that is not possible, (B) is correct.
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