Heron's formula

You can use Heron's formula to calculate the area of any triangle when you know the lengths of the three sides. 

A few examples showing how to use Heron's formula to calculate the area of triangles

Example #1:

Use Heron's formula to find the area of a triangle when a = 3 cm, b = 5 cm, and c = 4 cm

s = (3 + 5 + 4)/2 = 12/2 = 6

s − a = 6 − 3 = 3

s − b = 6 − 5 = 1

s − c = 6 − 4 = 2

s × (s − a) × (s − b) × (s − c) = 6 × 3 × 1 × 2 = 36

√(36) = 6

The area of this triangle is 6 cm²


Example #2:

Use Heron's formula to find the area of a triangle when a = 4 cm, b = 6 cm, and c = 8 cm

s = (4 + 6 + 8)/2 = 18/2 = 9

s − a = 9 − 4 = 5

s − b = 9 − 6 = 3

s − c = 9 − 8 = 1

s × (s − a) × (s − b) × (s − c) = 9 × 5 × 3 × 1 = 135

√(135) = 11.61

The area of this triangle is 11.61 cm²

Example #3:

Use Heron's formula to find the area of a triangle when a = 3/2 cm, b = 5/2 cm, and c = 2 cm

s = (3/2 + 5/2 + 2)/2 = (3/2 + 5/2 + 4/2)/2 = (12/2)/2 = 6/2 = 3

s − a = 3 − 3/2 = (6/2 − 3/2) = (6 − 3)/2 = 3/2

s − b = 3 − 5/2 = (6/2 − 5/2) = (6 − 5)/2 = 1/2

s − c = 3 − 2 = 1

s × (s − a) × (s − b) × (s − c) = 3 × 3/2 × 1/2 × 1 = 9/4

√(9/4) = 3/2

The area of this triangle is 1.5 cm²

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