GL Test 5 Question 34 Maths Question

[sadiamek]

Hi. Can someone explain this to me.

Nina has some sticks of different lengths. She can lay the sticks end to end to make triangles.
She chooses sticks with lengths:
2cm, 3cm, 5cm, 6cm, 8cm.

Which of these sets of three sticks can Nina use to make a triangle.

A 2cm, 3cm, 5cm
B 2cm, 3cm, 6cm
C 2cm, 3cm, 8cm
D 3cm, 5cm, 6cm
E 3cm, 5cm, 8cm


The Answer given is D but I'm not sure how they arrived at this.

** They had a picture of a scalene triangle.


Thanks.

[Guest55]

If you have a triangle then think about the lengths of the two shorter sides compared to the longest.

e.g. 2, 3, 5 can't be a triangle because 2 + 3 = 5 and the two sticks are the same length as the third

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Sorry, hard to draw - try with some practical equipment so you can see the limitations on lengths of sides.

[Ladymuck]

Triangle has 3 sides.
The length of the longest side must always be less than the total length of the other 2 sides.
Try drawing a triangle with sides 2,3 and 5. You will only be able to draw a line.

[sadiamek]

Thanks a lot to everyone who responded. Really helped a lot.
Much appreciated!