SOLID MENSURATION 1

LESSON 3: TRIANGLE

A triangle is any closed figure made by three (3) line segments intersecting at their
endpoints – a three-sided polygon. All triangle has three vertices (the points where the
segments meet), three sides (the segments), and three interior angles (formed at each vertex).

Triangles are named by reading the name of its vertices. The sides are named by the
small letter of the name of the angle opposite to the side.

Triangle ABC (in symbol △ 𝐴𝐵𝐶)

Classification of Triangles
Triangles are classified according to sides and according to angles.

According to Angles:

1. Acute Triangle – triangle which all interior angles measure less than 90°.
 SOLID MENSURATION 2
2. Obtuse Triangle – triangle with one of its interior angles measures more than 90° but
less than 180°.

3. Right Triangle – triangle with one of its interior angles measures exactly 90°.

4. Equiangular Triangle – triangle which all interior angles are congruent, thus, measures
60° each.

According to Sides:

1. Scalene Triangle – triangle with no congruent sides.

 SOLID MENSURATION 3

2. Isosceles Triangle – triangle with two of its sides are congruent.

3. Equilateral Triangle – triangle with all sides are congruent.

Properties of Triangles:
1. The sum of the measures of the interior angles is 180°.
2. The sum of the lengths of any two sides of a triangle is greater than the length of the
third side.
3. Two sides of a triangle are congruent if and only if the angles opposite these sides are
also congruent.
4. If the two sides of a triangle are unequal, the opposite angles are unequal and the
smaller angle is opposite the smaller side and vice versa.
5. The altitude of an isosceles triangle divides the triangle in two congruent right triangles.

Perimeter of Triangle
Perimeter refers to the distance around polygon. In triangle, it refers to the sum of the
length of the three sides. The formula is

𝑷=𝒂+𝒃+𝒄

where 𝑎, 𝑏 and 𝑐 are the measures of the three sides

 SOLID MENSURATION 4
Pythagorean Theorem
In mathematics, the Pythagorean theorem, or Pythagoras's theorem, is a fundamental
relation in Euclidean geometry among the three sides of a right triangle. It states that the area
of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the
sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides. This theorem can be written as an
equation relating the lengths of the sides a, b and c, often called the Pythagorean equation:

𝑐 ! = 𝑎! + 𝑏 !

where c represents the length of the hypotenuse and a and b the lengths of the triangle's other
two sides. The theorem, whose history is the subject of much debate, is named for the Greek
thinker Pythagoras, born around 570 BC.

Area of Triangle
The area of a polygon is the number of square units inside that polygon. Area is 2-
dimensional like a carpet or an area rug. A triangle is a three-sided polygon.

To find the area of a triangle, multiply the base by the height, and then divide by 2. The
division by 2 comes from the fact that a parallelogram can be divided into 2 triangles.

The formula for the area of a triangle is:

1
𝐴 = 𝑏ℎ
2
where 𝑏 is the base, ℎ is the height.

The base and height of a triangle must be perpendicular to each other. In each of the
examples below, the base is a side of the triangle. However, depending on the triangle, the
height may or may not be a side of the triangle.
 SOLID MENSURATION 5
Example 1. Find the area of an acute triangle with a base of 15 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 and a height of 4 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠.

1
𝐴 = 𝑏ℎ
2
1
𝐴 = (15 𝑖𝑛)(4 𝑖𝑛)
2
𝐴 = 30 𝑖𝑛!

Example 2. Find the area of a right triangle with a base of 6 centimeters and a height of 9
centimeters.

1
𝐴 = 𝑏ℎ
2
1
𝐴 = (6 𝑐𝑚)(9 𝑐𝑚)
2
𝐴 = 27 𝑐𝑚!

Example 3. Find the area of an obtuse triangle with a base of 5 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 and a height of 8 𝑖𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠.

1
𝐴 = 𝑏ℎ
2
1
𝐴 = (5 𝑖𝑛)(8 𝑖𝑛)
2
𝐴 = 20 𝑖𝑛!

Example 4. The area of triangle is 18 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡 and the base is 3 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑡. Find the height. (Note:
The triangle in the illustration to the right is NOT drawn to scale.)
 SOLID MENSURATION 6

1
𝐴 = 𝑏ℎ
2
!
1
18 𝑓𝑡 = (3 𝑓𝑡)(ℎ)
2
ℎ = 12 𝑓𝑡

Heron’s Formula
Here is our triangle, with sides a, b, and c.

"#$#%
We first calculate the semi-perimeter (half the sum of the sides): 𝑠 = !
. Then the
area of the triangle is

𝐴 = H𝑠(𝑠 − 𝑎)(𝑠 − 𝑏)(𝑠 − 𝑐)

If we replace s in the formula with its definition, we get this form, which is a little less
memorable but equally interesting:

𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐 −𝑎 + 𝑏 + 𝑐 𝑎 − 𝑏 + 𝑐 𝑎 + 𝑏 + −𝑐
𝐴=J K LK LK L
2 2 2 2

Heron’s Formula is usually used in determining the area of a triangle when the height is
unknown.

Example:
Find the area of the scalene triangle whose sides measure 5 m, 6 m and 7 m.

Calculate 𝑠:
 SOLID MENSURATION 7
5 𝑚 + 6 𝑚 + 7 𝑚 18 𝑚
𝑠= = =9𝑚
2 2

Using Heron’s Formula, we have

𝐴 = H𝑠(𝑠 − 𝑎)(𝑠 − 𝑏)(𝑠 − 𝑐)

𝐴 = H(9 𝑚)(9 𝑚 − 5 𝑚)(9 𝑚 − 6 𝑚)(9 𝑚 − 7 𝑚)

𝐴 = H(9 𝑚)(4 𝑚)(3 𝑚)(2 𝑚)

𝐴 = H216 𝑚&

𝐴 ≈ 14.70 𝑚!

Practice Exercises/Assignment:

1. Find the area of a triangle whose sides are 12 𝑐𝑚, 14 𝑐𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 14 𝑐𝑚.

2. Find the area of a triangle, two sides of which are 13 𝑐𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 14 𝑐𝑚 and the perimeter
is 42 𝑐𝑚.
 SOLID MENSURATION 8
3. An isosceles triangle has perimeter 50 𝑐𝑚 and each of the equal sides is 15 𝑐𝑚. Find
the area of the triangle.

4. The perimeter of a triangular plot is 360 𝑚 and its sides are in the ratio 10: 12: 14. Find
the area of the triangle.

5. A triangle has sides 9 𝑐𝑚, 12 𝑐𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 15 𝑐𝑚. Find the length of perpendicular line from
the opposite vertex to the side whose length is 15 cm.
 SOLID MENSURATION 9
NAME: __________________________________ SCORE: ___________________
COURSE/SECTION: _________________________ DATE: ____________________

Activity 1.3

DIRECTIONS: Solve the following problems. Write your solutions on the space provided after
each problem and box your final answer. Answer without solution means wrong.
Pointing System: 3 pts – Correct answer with correct unit
1 pt – Correct digit in answer but incorrect unit
0.5 pt – Consideration (incorrect answer but at least tried)
No credit for no answer

I. TRIANGLES
1. What is the altitude of a right angle if its area is 125 square meters and its base is 15
meters?

2. What is the hypotenuse of a right triangle if the two legs are 6 meters and 8 meters
respectively?

3. What is the area of an equilateral triangle if each side measure 5 cm?

4. The sides of triangle are 5 cm, 6 cm, and 7 cm respectively. Find the area.
 SOLID MENSURATION 10

5. Find the area of an equilateral triangle if its perimeter is 18 ft.

6. The sides of a scalene triangle are 6 cm, 9 cm, and 13 cm respectively. Find the area and the
perimeter of the triangle.

7. The sides of scalene triangle are in the ratio 2:4:3 and its perimeter are 27 inches. Find the
sides of the triangle.

8. The height of a triangle is 4 inches less than the length of the base. The area of the triangle
is 30 in2. Find the height of the triangle.

9. A field is in the shape of an equilateral triangle attached to the width of the rectangular
region where width of the rectangle and side of the triangle measures the same. The length
of rectangular region is 76 ft and the side of triangular region measures 42 ft. Find the
perimeter of the field.