1. ## Triangular Pen

José wants to build a triangular pen for his pet rabbit. He has three lengths of boards already cut that measure 7 feet, 8 feet, and 16 feet. Explain why José cannot construct a pen in the shape of a triangle with sides of 7 feet, 8 feet, and 16 feet.

2. Hello, magentarita!

Did you make a sketch?

José wants to build a triangular pen for his pet rabbit.
He has three lengths of boards already cut that measure 7 feet, 8 feet, and 16 feet.
Explain why José cannot construct a triangular pen with sides of 7, 8, and 16 feet.
Code:
                       *
*           . \
/ .         .   \ 8
7/   .       .     \
/     .     .       \
*-------*---*---------*
: - - -  16 - - - - - :

The two smaller sides are too short.

They will not meet to form a triangle

Do a search on "triangle inequality".
.

3. ## yes.........

Originally Posted by Soroban
Hello, magentarita!

Did you make a sketch?

Code:
                       *
*           . \
/ .         .   \ 8
7/   .       .     \
/     .     .       \
*-------*---*---------*
: - - -  16 - - - - - :
The two smaller sides are too short.

They will not meet to form a triangle

Do a search on "triangle inequality".
.