George has three steel beams. Beam A is 5 yards long, beam B is 7 yards long, and beam C is 13 yards long. If the full length of each beam is used, can the three steel beams be placed together to form a triangle?
In order for the three steel beams to form a triangle, the sum of the lengths of any two sides must be greater than the length of the third side.
Let's check if the three steel beams can form a triangle:
- Beam A (5 yards) + Beam B (7 yards) = 12 yards (less than 13 yards, Beam C).
- Beam A (5 yards) + Beam C (13 yards) = 18 yards (greater than 7 yards, Beam B).
- Beam B (7 yards) + Beam C (13 yards) = 20 yards (greater than 5 yards, Beam A).
Based on the above calculations, the three steel beams can indeed be placed together to form a triangle.