We can find an acute triangle with the three altitude lengths 1, 2, and h, if and only if h2 belongs to interval (p,q). Find (p,q).
Any help is appreciated thanks
I got it! The answer is (45,43).
Here is how I got it:
Let S be the twice the area of the triangle. Then the side lengths are S, S/2, and S/h. Since the triangle is acute, these side lengths must satisfy these inequalities:
S2+(S2)2>(Sh)2
(S2)2+(Sh)2>S2
S2+(Sh)2>(S2)2
We can divide each inequality by S2 to simplify, and the third inequality will automatically be satisfied, so we are left with:
1+14>1h2
14+1h2>1
Simplifying, we get h^2>4/5, and h^2<4/3, so the interval for h^2 is the (4/5, 4/3).