Three natural numbers are in the ratio [tex]2: 3: 4[/tex]. If the sum of the squares of these numbers is 116, find the numbers.



Answer :

To solve this problem, let's denote the three numbers by \(2x\), \(3x\), and \(4x\), where \(x\) is a scaling factor.

Given the sum of the squares of these numbers is 116, we can set up the following equation:
[tex]\[ (2x)^2 + (3x)^2 + (4x)^2 = 116 \][/tex]

Let's expand and simplify this equation:
[tex]\[ 4x^2 + 9x^2 + 16x^2 = 116 \][/tex]
[tex]\[ (4 + 9 + 16)x^2 = 116 \][/tex]
[tex]\[ 29x^2 = 116 \][/tex]

Next, we solve for \(x^2\) by dividing both sides of the equation by 29:
[tex]\[ x^2 = \frac{116}{29} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ x^2 = 4 \][/tex]

Taking the square root of both sides gives us two possible values for \(x\):
[tex]\[ x = 2 \quad \text{or} \quad x = -2 \][/tex]

Since we are looking for natural numbers, we consider the positive value of \(x\):
[tex]\[ x = 2 \][/tex]

Now, we use this value of \(x\) to find the three numbers:
[tex]\[ 2x = 2 \cdot 2 = 4 \][/tex]
[tex]\[ 3x = 3 \cdot 2 = 6 \][/tex]
[tex]\[ 4x = 4 \cdot 2 = 8 \][/tex]

Therefore, the three natural numbers are [tex]\(4\)[/tex], [tex]\(6\)[/tex], and [tex]\(8\)[/tex].