The sides of a right angled triangle are in arithmetic progression. If the triangle has area 24, then what is the length of its smallest side [2018]
(6)
Let the sides be a-d, a, a+d where d is positive. Using Pythagoras theorem,
(a+d)2=(a-d)2+a2⇒a=4d
∴ Sides are 3d, 4d, 5d
Area=24⇒12×3d×4d=24⇒d2=4⇒d=2
∴ Smallest side =3d=6.