1988 AHSME Problems/Problem 22

Problem

For how many integers $x$ does a triangle with side lengths $10, 24$ and $x$ have all its angles acute?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 4\qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 5\qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 6\qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 7\qquad \textbf{(E)}\ \text{more than } 7$

Solution

We first notice that the sides $10$ and $24$ , can be part of $2$ different right triangles, one with sides $10,24,26$ , and the other with a leg somewhere between $21$ and $22$ . We now notice that if $x$ is less than $21$ , one of the angles is obtuse, and that the same is the same for any value of $x$ above $26$ . Thus the only integer values of $x$ that fit the conditions, are $x=22, 23, 24, \text{and }25.$ So, the answer is $\boxed{\text{A}}$

1988 AHSME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 21	Followed by Problem 23
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
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1988 AHSME Problems/Problem 22

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