Which formula is correct for the area of a triangle?

Which formula is correct for the area of a triangle?

• A. (B x H)/2 = A
• B. B x H = A
• C. A = (B x H)/3
• D. A = B + H

Answer: (A)

The area of a triangle is found by taking half of the product of its base and its height. So, with base B and height H, the area is A = (B × H) / 2. The height must be the perpendicular distance from the base to the opposite vertex. If you multiply base by height, you’d get the area of a rectangle with those sides, which is twice the triangle’s area, so you’d need the division by 2. Dividing by 3 would not correspond to how area is measured for a triangle, and adding base and height would give a length, not an area. This is why A = (B × H)/2 is the correct formula.

The area of a triangle is found by taking half of the product of its base and its height. So, with base B and height H, the area is A = (B × H) / 2. The height must be the perpendicular distance from the base to the opposite vertex. If you multiply base by height, you’d get the area of a rectangle with those sides, which is twice the triangle’s area, so you’d need the division by 2. Dividing by 3 would not correspond to how area is measured for a triangle, and adding base and height would give a length, not an area. This is why A = (B × H)/2 is the correct formula.