Answer: A. 38 sides
B. When solved, you get -27.04 sides or 30.04 sides. Neither of these are possible because the number of sides cannot be negative or a decimal.
Step-by-step explanation: Part A:
If the polygon has 665 diagonals, set your original n-sided polygon equal to it.
n(n - 3)/2 = 665
Multiply both sides by 2 so it’s not in the denominator.
n(n - 3) = 1330
Distribute n and subtract 1330 from both sides so it is equal to zero.
n² - 3n - 1330 = 0
Factor it:
(n - 38)(n * 35) = 0
Solve for n by setting it equal to zero:
n = 38 & n = -35
The number of sides cannot be negative, therefore, the answer to Part A is 38 sides.
Part B:
Set your original n-sided polygon equal to 406 and solve to prove that a polygon cannot have 406 diagonals.
n(n - 3)/2 = 406
Multiply both sides by 2 so it’s not in the denominator.
n(n - 3) = 812
Distribute n and subtract 812 from both sides so that it is equal to zero.
n² - 3n - 812 = 0
This cannot be factored, so plug it into the Quadratic Formula. Here are the values you need for the Quadratic Formula based on the polynomial above:
a = 1
b = -3
c = -812
When you solve this, you will get:
n = -27.04 and n = 30.04
A polygon cannot have negative sides and it cannot have decimal sides. It has to be a positive integer (positive whole number).