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Area of a Triangle

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7 views

Area of a Triangle

Uploaded by

harshisai23
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Area of a triangle is the region enclosed by it, in a two-dimensional plane.

As we
know, a triangle is a closed shape that has three sides and three vertices. Thus, the
area of a triangle is the total space occupied within the three sides of a triangle. The
general formula to find the area of the triangle is given by half of the product of its base
and height.

In general, the term “area” is defined as the region occupied inside the boundary of a
flat object or figure. The measurement is done in square units with the standard unit
being square meters (m2). For the computation of area, there are predefined formulas
for squares, rectangles, circles, triangles, etc. In this article, we will learn the area of
triangle formulas for different types of triangles, along with some example problems.

What is the Area of a Triangle?


The area of a triangle is defined as the total region that is enclosed by the three sides
of any particular triangle. Basically, it is equal to half of the base times height, i.e. A =
1/2 × b × h. Hence, to find the area of a tri-sided polygon, we have to know the base (b)
and height (h) of it. It is applicable to all types of triangles, whether it is scalene,
isosceles or equilateral. To be noted, the base and height of the triangle are
perpendicular to each other. The unit of area is measured in square units (m2, cm2).

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Example: What is the area of a triangle with base b = 3 cm and height h = 4 cm?

Using the formula,

Area of a Triangle, A = 1/2 × b × h

= 1/2 × 4 (cm) × 3 (cm)

= 2 (cm) × 3 (cm)

= 6 cm2

Apart from the above formula, we have Heron’s formula to calculate the triangle’s area
when we know the length of its three sides. Also, trigonometric functions are used to
find the area when we know two sides and the angle formed between them in a
triangle. We will calculate the area for all the conditions given here.

Area of a Triangle Formula


The area of the triangle is given by the formula mentioned below:

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Area of a Triangle = A = ½ (b × h) square units

where b and h are the base and height of the triangle, respectively.

Now, let’s see how to calculate the area of a triangle using the given formula. The area
formulas for all the different types of triangles, like an area of an equilateral triangle,
right-angled triangle, an isosceles triangle along with how to find the area of a triangle
with 3 sides using Heron’s formula with examples are given below.

Area of a Right Angled Triangle


A right-angled triangle, also called a right triangle has any one angle equal to 90°.
Therefore, the height of the triangle will be the length of the perpendicular side.

Area of a Right Triangle = A = ½ × Base × Height (Perpendicular distance)

From the above figure,

Area of triangle ACB = 1/2 × a × b

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Area of an Equilateral Triangle
An equilateral triangle is a triangle where all the sides are equal. The perpendicular
drawn from the vertex of the triangle to the base divides the base into two equal parts.
To calculate the area of the equilateral triangle, we have to know the measurement of
its sides.

 Area of an Equilateral Triangle = A = (√3)/4 × side2

Area of an Isosceles Triangle


An isosceles triangle has two of its sides equal and also the angles opposite the equal
sides are equal.

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Also read:

Perimeter of a Triangle
The perimeter of a triangle is the distance covered around the triangle and is calculated by
adding all three sides of a triangle.

 The perimeter of a triangle = P = (a + b + c) units

where a, b and c are the sides of the triangle.

Area of Triangle with Three Sides (Heron’s Formula)


The area of a triangle with 3 sides of different measures can be calculated
using Heron’s formula. Heron’s formula includes two important steps. The first step is to
find the semi perimeter of a triangle by adding all three sides of a triangle and dividing it
by 2. The next step is to apply the semi-perimeter of triangle value in the main formula
called “Heron’s Formula” to find the area of a triangle.

where, s is semi-perimeter of the triangle = s = (a+b+c) / 2


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We have seen that the area of special triangles could be obtained using the triangle
formula. However, for a triangle with the sides being given, the calculation of height
would not be simple. For the same reason, we rely on Heron’s Formula to calculate the
area of the triangles with unequal lengths.

Area of a Triangle Given Two Sides and the Included


Angle (SAS)
Now, the question comes, when we know the two sides of a triangle and an angle
included between them, then how to find its area.

Let us take a triangle ABC, whose vertex angles are ∠A, ∠B, and ∠C, and sides are
a,b and c, as shown in the figure below.

Now, if any two sides and the angle between them are given, then the formulas to
calculate the area of a triangle is given by:

Area (∆ABC) = ½ bc sin A

Area (∆ABC) = ½ ab sin C

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Area (∆ABC) = ½ ca sin B

These formulas are very easy to remember and also to calculate.

For example, If, in ∆ABC, A = 30° and b = 2, c = 4 in units. Then the area will be;

Area (∆ABC) = ½ bc sin A

= ½ (2) (4) sin 30

= 4 x ½ (since sin 30 = ½)

= 2 sq.uni

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