Find the area of equilateral triangles Free Math Quiz
What is an equilateral triangle and how to find its area?
An equilateral triangle is a type of triangle that has three sides with the same length. All three angles of an equilateral triangle are also equal, each measuring 60 degrees.
To find the area of an equilateral triangle, we use a formula that involves the length of one of the sides. The formula is:
Area = (sqrt(3) / 4) * (side^2)
The symbol “sqrt” stands for “square root.” It’s a math operation that undoes squaring a number. For example, the square root of 4 is 2, because 2 x 2 = 4.
To use the formula, we need to measure the length of one of the sides of the triangle and plug that number into the formula. Let’s try an example:
Imagine we have an equilateral triangle with sides that are each 6 inches long. Plugging this number into the formula, we get:
Area = (sqrt(3) / 4) * (6^2) = (sqrt(3) / 4) * 36
To find the square root of 3, we can use a calculator or look it up in a math table. The square root of 3 is approximately 1.73. Plugging this number into the formula, we get:
Area = (1.73 / 4) * 36 = 0.43 * 36 = 15.48 inches
So the area of this equilateral triangle is approximately 15.48 square inches.
It’s important to remember that the side length must be in the same units as the area, whether it’s inches, feet, or centimeters. Make sure to use the same units for both the side length and the area when using the formula.