The first side of a triangle is 3 inches shorter than the second side, and 2 inches longer than the third side. How long is each side, if the triangle has a perimeter of 28 inches?this is confusing. Please explain step by step

Answer:Since  x is 8 in. shorter than the second side, we know that we'd need to add 8 to  x to get the length of the second side. So the second side is  x + 8 . (Think, if the first side is 2 inches and it is 8 inches shorter than the second side, the second side must be 10 inches, so this works.) The third side is 4 times the length of the first side, so the third side is  4 x . Perimeter is the sum of the sides, so:  ( x ) + ( x + 8 )+ 4 x = 6 x+ 8 We also know the perimeter is 26, so we have: 6 x + 8 =26 subtract 8: 6 x =18 divide: x = 3 . The three sides have length: 3, 11, and 12. The longest side is 12 inches long.Step-by-step explanation: