Math in the Middle Institute Partnership
Date of this Version
7-2006
Abstract
The formula for the area of a triangle can be developed by making an exact copy of the triangle and rotating it 180°. Then join it to the given triangle along one side to obtain a parallelogram as shown above. To form a rectangle, cut off a small triangle along the right and join it at the other side of the parallelogram. Because the area of the rectangle is the product of base (b) and height (h), the area of the given triangle must be 1⁄2bh.
Comments
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Teaching with a Specialization in the Teaching of Middle Level Mathematics in the Department of Mathematics. David Fowler, Advisor July 2006