Practice Set · Part 1
Determine the Area of Triangles
Pick up where we left off
Where we left off
Our goal: I can find the area of a triangle using the formula A = ½ × base × height, explain why the method works, and use it on a problem I have not seen before.
The big idea: The height of a triangle meets the base line at a square corner, even outside the shape, and doubling the area undoes the half.
Model to copy — Example 1 · The height is outside
- A triangle has a base of 6 m. Its height is 4 m, measured outside the triangle. One slanted side is 5 m. Find the area.
- Find the base: b = 6
- Find the height. Do not use the slanted side: h = 4
- Use the triangle formula: 1/2 × 6 × 4 = 12
- The area is 12 square meters.
- A triangle-shaped sail has an area of 36 square feet. Its base is 9 feet. What is its height?
- Write the formula with the numbers you know: 36 = 1/2 × 9 × h
- Double the area to undo the half: 36 × 2 = 72
- Divide by the base: 72 ÷ 9 = 8
- Check with the formula: 1/2 × 9 × 8 = 36
- The height is 8 feet.
Start here
You did these with your group. Now do them on your own — the model above is yours to copy.
- 1
Same stepsFinish what the group started. Use the model above, step for step.
Try it together — then prove it: A triangle has a base of 10 cm and a height of 6 cm. Find its area. Multiply the base by the height. (10 × 6 = 60) Take half. What is the area? (1/2 × 60 = 30 square centimeters) Why do we take half? (Two copies of the triangle make a 10 by 6 rectangle. The triangle is only half of it.)Show your work - 2
Warm restartWhat is the area of a rectangle 8 cm long and 5 cm wide?
- A13 square cm
- B26 square cm
- C40 square cm
- D40 cubic cm
How do you know?
- 3
Warm restartWhat is the area of a parallelogram with base 9 in and height 4 in?
- A13 square in
- B18 square in
- C26 square in
- D36 square in
How do you know?
- 4
Warm restartIn a parallelogram, how is the height measured?
- AAlong the slanted side
- BPerpendicular to the base
- CAround the outside
- DFrom one corner to the opposite corner
How do you know?
Practice Set · Part 2
Determine the Area of Triangles
Keep going
You answered these out loud. Now write them.
Answer, then say how you know — the reason is the part that counts.
- 5
Think it throughWhat is the area of the triangular wall?
- A34 sq ft
- B70 sq ft
- C140 sq ft
- D280 sq ft
Why is that the answer?
- 6
Think it throughHow many cans of paint does she need?
- A2
- B2.8
- C3
- D4
How do you know? Give a second reason as well.
- 7
Think it throughWhy round up instead of down?
- ABecause 2 cans cover only 100 sq ft, which is not enough for 140
- BBecause paint is always sold in threes
- CBecause 2.8 rounds to 3 by the usual rule
- DBecause the wall might be bigger
Explain your thinking. What would have to change for a different choice to be right?
- 8
Back to the modelThe triangle fits inside a 12 × 8 rectangle. How does the triangle's area compare to the rectangle's area?
Practice Set · Part 3
Determine the Area of Triangles
Words and reasoning
Word bank · Banco de palabras
Use the words
Fill each blank with a word from the bank.
- The side of a triangle you measure the height from at a 90° angle is the ___.
- The perpendicular distance from the base to the opposite vertex is the ___.
- The amount of flat space inside a triangle is its ___.
- Two lines that meet at a 90° angle are ___.
Explain the thinking
- 9
Find the mistakeAnother student made this exact mistake in this lesson. Explain why it is wrong, then write what they should have done.
The mistake: A common mistake in Area of Triangles is forgetting the ½ — students multiply base × height like a rectangle and stop there, or they use the triangle's slanted side instead of the perpendicular height that's already given. - 10
Say moreOn the grid your triangle (base 12, height 8) fits inside a 12 by 8 rectangle. Why do we divide by 2 to find the triangle's area?
- 11
Write your ownWrite your own problem about this situation, then solve it and show the answer. The situation: This is the firm's blueprint for a park. A rectangular plot is split by a diagonal path into two triangular garden beds that will be filled with soil.
Show your work
Practice Set · Part 4
Determine the Area of Triangles
Show what you know
Last check
These two come from Lesson 5.1. If they are shaky, that is the lesson to revisit — not this one.
- 12
Show what you knowExplain your thinking — A triangle has a base of 11 inches and a height of 8 inches. What is its area?
- A19 sq in
- B44 sq in
- C44 in
- D88 sq in
Explain your choice.
- 13
From Lesson 5.1Explain your thinking — A parallelogram has a base of 13 inches and a height of 5 inches. What is its area?
- A18 sq in
- B36 sq in
- C65 sq in
- D65 in
How do you know?
- 14
From Lesson 5.1Why use the height instead of the slanted side length?
- ABecause the slanted side is always longer
- BBecause parallelograms have no height
- CBecause the base is on the bottom
- DBecause area needs the perpendicular distance between the two bases
How do you know?
Be honest — this tells your teacher what to do next
| I can… | Not yet | Getting there | Got it |
|---|---|---|---|
| I can find the area of a triangle using the formula A = ½ × base × height, explain why the method works, and use it on a problem I have not seen before. | |||
| I can explain why it works: The height of a triangle meets the base line at a square corner, even outside the shape… | |||
| I can justify my answer to a skeptic and connect it to a second strategy or representation. |
One question I want to ask my group next time