If , , and are three sides of a triangle, then the value of is in the interval . If can be expressed as , where and are relative primes, find .
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Without loss of generality, let a ≤ b ≤ c , then max ( a , b , c ) = c . And let b = a + δ and c = a + δ + ϵ , where δ , ϵ ≥ 0 . Then let p = a + b + c c = a + b + c a + δ + ϵ . Therefore, p is minimum, when δ = ϵ = 0 , then a = b = c and p = a + b + c a = 3 a a = 3 1 .
By triangle inequality , we have a + b > c and the limit is reached when ∠ C → 1 8 0 ∘ , then c → a + b and q = a + b + c c = a + b + a + b a + b = 2 1 .
Therefore, p + q = 3 1 + 2 1 = 6 5 ; ⟹ x + y = 5 + 6 = 1 1 .