Question

a triangle shaped machine part has sides of 2 1/2 inches, 3 1/4 inches, and 5 inches. the triangle's perimeter is

Answer 1

For perimeter you simply add up its areas, for easy calculations will change both 1/2 and 1/4 to decimals

1/2 = 0.5
1/4 = 0.25

2.5 + 3.25 + 5 = 10 .75 or 10 3/4, whichever answer you like better :)

Answer 2

Answer with explanation:

Perimeter of Triangle = Sum of length of all sides of triangle

Length of sides of triangle are

$a=2\frac{1}{2}\\\\a=\frac{5}{2}\\\\a=2.5\\\\b=3\frac{1}{4}\\\\b=\frac{13}{4}\\\\b=3.25\\\\c=5\\\\\text{Perimeter}\rightarrow a+b+c=2.5+3.25+5\\\\a+b+c=7.5+3.25\\\\a+b+c=10.75$