Menu

Right Triangles by Area

Part of the Transformations & Constructions section of Coddy's Geometry journey. Lesson 34 of 61.

A right triangle's area is half the product of its two legs, the sides that meet at the right angle. With legs along the grid that is easy: legs 4 and 3 give area 6. Tilted legs work the same way.

A right isosceles triangle with two legs of root 5

Here AB is the step ⟨2, 1⟩ and AC is ⟨-1, 2⟩, the same step turned a quarter. So the angle at A is a right angle and both legs are √5. The triangle is right and isosceles, and its area is 1/2 × √(5) × √(5) = 5/2.

challenge icon

Challenge

On the squared paper, draw a right isosceles triangle with area 5: its two legs equal and at right angles. Then press Check.

quiz iconTest yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

quiz iconTest yourself

This lesson includes a short quiz. Start the lesson to answer it and track your progress.

All lessons in Transformations & Constructions