Beyond Base Times Height

Trigonometry · Axiom Academy

Discover multiple ways to find a triangle's area depending on what information you know! You probably know this one: Area = ½ × base × height. But what happens when you don't know the height ? When You Know Two Sides and an Angle If you know two sides and the angle between them, you can use: Area = ½ab sin(C) Visual Proof of the Sine Formula Let's see why the formula Area = ½ab sin(C) works by connecting it to base × height. If you only know the three side lengths (and no angles), you can use Heron's Formula . Each formula has its place depending on what information you have available.

This is the written version of the interactive lesson above. See the full Trigonometry course.