Introduction: Polygons are figures that Mathematicians use in geometry. One such famous polygon is the triangle that consists of three sides. Not only does it have three sides, but even the angles are also three. Each side is at a fixed angle with the other. The angles may change depending on the type of the triangle. But there is one feature that remains constant. Whenever you add all the angles in a triangle, it is always 180 degrees. The region where the two sides meet is termed as vertices. Depending on the angles it can be either an obtuse triangle or an acute triangle.
Types of a triangle
- Equilateral: This is the type where the sides measure up to the same length. It is easy to draw because it looks like a perfectly shaped one. Since the three sides are equal, you can calculate the angles easily. The total sum that you can get from the three angles is 180. Just divide it by three to get each angle that is equal to 60 degrees.
- Isosceles: Not every triangle will consist of sides that look equal to each other. Some of them have only two sides that have similar lengths. When you see them you will understand that it is an isosceles triangle. You can also say that the two sides are just congruent to each other.
- Scalene: This is the last type where you will not find anything in common. Each side is unique and has different values for length. As a result, the triangle has all unequal sets of angles in it.
- Main properties that triangles have: The one unique property that you all know is the addition of all the angles. It will always have the result as 180 degrees. This does not depend on which order you do the calculation. Whenever you will do it the answer will be the same as it is mathematically defined. Similarly, when you add the exterior angles, the solution will always be 360 degrees. This is the major property that can solve half the angular problems. There may be some problems where you cannot calculate the exterior angle. To do this, you need to point out the two interior angles inside. These should be located opposite to that particular exterior angle. Once you take the sum, it will be of the same value as the exterior angle.
- Other attributes: Besides the angles, there are rules related to the sides as well. If you add any two sides, it will come out to be bigger than the third one. In case it does not, then the triangle can be defined as incomplete. The sides won’t join if the above condition is not satisfied. Similarly, if you subtract those two sides, it will be less than the third side. There is a way you can determine which of the sides is the smallest in a triangle. For that, you have to calculate the angle that is the smallest. See which side is opposite to it and that will be your answer.
- Calculating the area: For this, you need to find which type the triangle belongs for. If it is right-angled then you will need a particular formula. Just apply ( 1/2 *b* h), where “b” is base and “h” refers to height. Otherwise, just use the heron’s formula which is A = √[s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)].
- “S” is the short form of half the perimeter of the triangle.
Several varieties of triangles exist in geometry that kids need to explore. To understand better about triangles, you can visit Cuemath website. It has expert teachers of mathematics and provides online classes in various countries.
