TRIANGLE: I’m a triangle. Of course I am, obviously you knew that. I’ve got three sides.
And this, is Rectangle. You’re supposed to say hello, Rectangle.
RECTANGLE: Hi
TRIANGLE: You may well be asking yourself, how do we find the area of Triangle. Well it’s simple really.
Because there are always two of me in Rectangle, look…
RECTANGLE: Ugh get off.
TRAINGLE: So you find the area of Rectangle and then divide it by two, and that’s my area. And it works no matter what size and shape I am. Look…
Now I am four centimetres high and three centimetres wide.
If Rectangle changes shape too…
RECTANGLE: I don’t want to.
TRAINGLE: You have to, that’s the whole point!
RECTANGLE: It’s embarrassing.
TRIANGLE: Go on…
RECTANGLE: Urgh
TRAINGLE: Now he’s four centimetres high and three centimetres wide, like me. He’s 12 square centimetres. So I must be half that.
Six square centimetres!
And whatever shape I am, it still works!
RECTANGLE: Urgh, it’s really embarrassing, I want to go home.
Area of a triangle
To calculate the area of a triangle, multiply the height by the width (this is also known as the 'base') then divide by 2.
Find the area of a triangle where height = 5 cm and width = 8 cm.
5 × 8 = 40 ÷ 2 = 20
The area is 20cm².
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More on Measurement
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