Area of a Triangle Formula

The formula for the area of a triangle gives the area of a triangle if the height and base are known. The base is the "bottom" side of the triangle.

The height measures the distance from the base to the opposite vertex, or corner.

Area is measured in square units such as square inches, square centimeters, etc.

Example 1:

Find the area of the triangle with a base of 7 inches and a height of 4 inches.

Step 1 :

Find the variables.

b = 7 since b is the base.

h = 4 since h is the height.

Step 2:

Substitute the variables.

$A=\frac{\left(7\right)\left(4\right)}{2}$

Step 3:

Simplify.

$A=\frac{28}{2}$

A = 14

Answer:

The area of the triangle is 14 in².

Example 2:

Find the area of the triangle with a base of 5 meters and a height of 32 meters.

Step 1:

Find the variables.

b = 5 since b is the base.

h = 32 since h is the height.

Step 2:

Substitute the variables.

$A=\frac{\left(5\right)\left(32\right)}{2}$

Step 3:

Simplify.

$A=\frac{160}{2}$

A = 80

Answer:

The area of the triangle is 80 m².