Area of Triangles Examples: 24 Problems with Answers

Start with the recap, study the fully worked examples, then use the practice problems to check your understanding of Area of Triangles.

This page combines explanation, solved examples, and follow-up practice so you can move from recognition to confident problem-solving in Math.

Concept Recap

The area of a triangle is half the product of its base and height: A=12bh.

Every triangle is exactly half of a rectangle with the same base and height — cut the rectangle along the diagonal.

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How to Use These Examples

  • Read the first worked example with the solution open so the structure is clear.
  • Try the practice problems before revealing each solution.
  • Use the related concepts and background knowledge badges if you feel stuck.

What to Focus On

Core idea: A triangle's area is half its base times its perpendicular height, because every triangle is half a rectangle of the same base and height.

Common stuck point: The procedure for area of triangles is the easy part; the trap is forgetting the 12. Asking "Do I have a base and a height that meets it at a right angle, and do I remember to take half?" first is what keeps a correct-looking calculation from being attached to the wrong concept.

Sense of Study hint: Ask: Do I have a base and a height that meets it at a right angle, and do I remember to take half?

Worked Examples

Example 1

medium
A triangle has vertices (0,0), (8,0), (3,6). Find its area.

Answer

24

First step

1
Base along x-axis: 8.

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Example 2

medium
Use Heron's formula to find the area of a triangle with sides 5, 12, 13.

Example 3

medium
A triangle has vertices (2,3), (8,3), (5,9). Find its area.

Example 4

hard
Use the shoelace formula to find the area of the triangle with vertices (0,0), (5,2), (3,7).

Example 5

hard
Find the area of the triangle with sides 9, 10, 17 using Heron's formula.

Example 6

hard
A triangle has base b on the x-axis and a vertex at (x0,y0) with y0>0. Explain why its area equals 12b⋅y0.

Example 7

hard
A triangle has vertices (0,0), (6,0), (0,8). Find the inradius given area 24 and perimeter 24 (sides 6, 8, 10).

Example 8

hard
A triangle's vertices are (1,1), (6,1), (4,8). Find its area.

Example 9

challenge
A triangle has sides 3, 4, 5 inscribed with a smaller similar triangle whose sides are half. Compare areas.

Practice Problems

Try these problems on your own first, then open the solution to compare your method.

Example 1

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

Example 2

easy
Find the area of a triangle with base 12 and height 5.

Example 3

easy
A right triangle has legs 5 and 12. Find its area.

Example 4

easy
A right triangle has legs 9 and 40. Find its area.

Example 5

easy
Why must we divide by 2 in the triangle area formula?

Example 6

medium
A triangle's base is doubled and height is halved. How does its area change?

Example 7

medium
Find the area of an equilateral triangle with side 8 (use 3≈1.73).

Example 8

medium
A triangle has sides 7 and 10 with included angle 30°. Find its area.

Example 9

medium
A triangular flag has base 24 in and height 18 in. How many square feet of fabric does it need?

Example 10

medium
A triangle has area 48. A new triangle has base 4× as big and height 14 as big. Find its area.

Example 11

hard
A triangle and a parallelogram share base 12 and the triangle's area is 30. What height makes the parallelogram have the same area?

Example 12

hard
In a triangle, the three medians all split it into two equal-area triangles. True or false?

Example 13

hard
An isosceles triangle has two sides 13 and base 10. Find its area.

Example 14

hard
A triangle has sides a=8, b=15, included angle C=90°. Find its area.

Example 15

challenge
A triangle has area A. If a cevian splits the opposite side in ratio 2:3, find the areas of the two pieces.

Background Knowledge

These ideas may be useful before you work through the harder examples.

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