8/16/2018 geometry - Find area of triangle (given its equations) - Mathematics Stack Exchange

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Find area of triangle (given its equations) Ask Question

Find the area of the triangle in the plane R bounded by the lines y
2
= x ,
y = −3x + 8, and 3y + 5x = 0

I know that I can find the area of the triangle by taking the half of the area of the
parallelogram the points make. But I don't know how to convert those equations to
Aryabhata
points so I can take the vectors and calculate it's determinant. 69.1k 6 154 246

geometry analytic-geometry
Math.SE seems to be going the stackoverflow w ay. Pity.
edited Apr 10 '13 at 20:29 asked Apr 10 '13 at 20:23
Aryabhata Randolf Rincón Fadul
69.1k 6 154 246 375 1 5 19

2 Answers

Find the points (x , y ) at which each pair of equations intersect. There are three
i i

such pairs, so three points of intersection, which will be the vertices of the triangle.
From the vertices (x , y ), you can determine the two vectors you need, which you
i i

can use as the columns of the matrix for which the absolute value of the
determinant, multiplied by 1/2, will give you area.

Given ,
y = x y = −3x + 8 , and 3y + 5x = 0

Example:

Vertex 1: At what point does y = x and y = −3x + 8 intersect? When x = −3x + 8

. Solving for x, gives us x = 2, which in this case, will also equal y.

So vertex 1 is (2, 2). Proceed in a similar manner to determine:

Vertex 2: where y = x and 3y + 5x = 0 .

Vertex 3: where y − −3x + 8 and 3y + 5x = 0

edited Apr 10 '13 at 20:40 answered Apr 10 '13 at 20:28

amWhy
189k 25 219 431

Thank you. A very clear explanation. I solve the problem, the area is 16 –
Randolf Rincón Fadul Apr 10 '13 at 21:06

You're very welcome! – amWhy Apr 10 '13 at 21:08

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Or from the vertices, you can apply the formula:

https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/357533/find-area-of-triangle-given-its-equations 1/2
8/16/2018 geometry - Find area of triangle (given its equations) - Mathematics Stack Exchange
1 ∣ x1 x2 x3 x1 ∣
Area = ∣ ∣
2 ∣ y1 y2 y3 y1 ∣

If you know how to use it.

answered Apr 10 '13 at 20:32

Jerry
831 6 15

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https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/357533/find-area-of-triangle-given-its-equations 2/2