How do you use Heron's formula to find the area of a triangle with sides of lengths 4 , 6 , and 3 ?

1 Answer
Jan 22, 2016

Area=5.33268 square units

Explanation:

Hero's formula for finding area of the triangle is given by
Area=sqrt(s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c))

Where s is the semi perimeter and is defined as
s=(a+b+c)/2

and a, b, c are the lengths of the three sides of the triangle.

Here let a=4, b=6 and c=3

implies s=(4+6+3)/2=13/2=6.5

implies s=6.5

implies s-a=6.5-4=2.5, s-b=6.5-6=0.5 and s-c=6.5-3=3.5
implies s-a=2.5, s-b=0.5 and s-c=3.5

implies Area=sqrt(6.5*2.5*0.5*3.5)=sqrt28.4375=5.33268 square units

implies Area=5.33268 square units