Area of an equilateral triangle - Solved

iplaygo

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Mar 18, 2010
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Alright. I know that the area of an equilateral triangle is (side)^2 (sqrt(3)/4)
however, I was doing a problem, and started it without remembering that fact. I was given that a side of the triangle is 2sqrt(x), so I broke the triangle into two right triangles with leg = sqrt(x) and hypotenuse = 2sqrt(x)
Using Pythagorean Theorem, I found a height of sqrt(3x). Then, I doubled the area formula for standard triangles to get A = b times h
My final answer was sqrt(3x^2)
Could I get an explanation of how this approach doesn't make sense?
 
Re: Area of an equilateral triangle

Guh. Turns out I forgot my answer could be rewritten as sqrt(3)sqrt(x^2)
 
[attachment=0:2o1ve91m]triangle area.jpg[/attachment:2o1ve91m]
 

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