How do you use Heron's formula to find the area of a triangle with sides of lengths #6 #, #4 #, and #9 #?
1 Answer
Mar 10, 2016
Explanation:
For a triangle with side
#s = frac{a+b+c}{2}#
Heron's formula states that the area of the triangle is given by
#"Area" = sqrt{s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)}#
In this question, we have
#a=6# #b=4# #c=9#
The semi-perimeter,
#s = frac{6+4+9}{2} = 19/2#
So, the area of the triangle is
#"Area" = sqrt{19/2(19/2-6)(19/2-4)(19/2-9)}#
#= frac{sqrt{1463}}{4}#
#~~ 9.562#