I am thinking of 3 different whole numbers which have a product of 36. 5 more than the sum of the 3 numbers is a perfect square. what is the sum of my 3 numbers?

1 answer

Make a list of all possible combinations of three numbers with a product of 36. There are not very many.
The prime factors are 1*2*2*3*3. Make up the combinations from them, in groups of 3. Then compute the sums.

3 2 9 Sum = 15
18 1 2 Sum = 21
2 3 6 Sum = 11
3 3 4 Sum = 10

Add five to those sums. One number you get is a perfect square