1995 AHSME Problems/Problem 23
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Problem
The sides of a triangle have lengths and
, where
is an integer. For how many values of
is the triangle obtuse?
Solution
By the Law of Cosines, a triangle is obtuse if the sum of the squares of two of the sides of the triangles is less than the square of the third. The largest angle is either opposite side or side
. If
is the largest side,
By the Triangle Inequality we also have that , so
can be
, or
values.
If is the largest side,
Combining with the Triangle Inequality , or
values. These total
values of
.
See also
1995 AHSME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 22 |
Followed by Problem 24 | |
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