A triangle has two sides of length 17 and 16. what is the smallest possible whole number length for the third side?

2

Step-by-step explanation:

One property of a triangle is that the sum of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the third side. Therefore, if the third side was represented by x, this would mean that :

17 + x > 16

16 + x > 17

17 + 16 > x

Since 17 is already greater than 16, there is no limit on x there. However, because 16 is 1 less than 17, x must be greater than 1. Furthermore, since 17+16 is 33, x must be less than 33. Therefore, the smallest whole number that fits these conditions is 2.