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Altitude of a Triangle Formula

Altitude of a triangle formula: Explore more about the altitude of a triangle formula with solved examples.

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Altitude of a triangle formula

A triangle’s altitude or height is nothing but a perpendicular which we draw from the triangle’s vertex to its opposite face. As triangles include three sides, anyone can draw three altitudes within a triangle.

Different types of triangles portray different types of altitudes. The area of a triangular figure can be evaluated if you know its altitude. Another term for altitude is the height which is marked by the alphabet ‘h’.

What is the altitude of a triangle formula?

The fundamental formula that we implement to get the area of any triangle is: Total area = ½ x height x base. Here, height is nothing but the triangle’s altitude. From this formula only, you will be able to churn out the formula for evaluating the altitude of any triangle.

Altitude = (area x 2)/ base

In the next portion, we will see how you can calculate the height of an equilateral triangle, scalene triangle, isosceles triangle, and even a right-angled triangle.

Equilateral triangle	h = (a √3)/2
Scalene triangle	h = [2√s(s-a)(s-c)(s-b)]/b
Isosceles triangle	h = √a2 – b2/4
Right-angled triangle	h = √x2+y2

Difference between height and median of a triangle

Although both the height and median of a triangle start from the vertex and end on the opposite face of a triangle, we must not use them synonymously.

Height or altitude	Median
It is the perpendicular length from the triangular base to its opposite vertex.	It is a line segment starting from one of the vertices and ending on the opposite face.
Sometimes height can even be outside a triangle.	Median always stays inside a triangle.
It divides the triangle into equal halves.	Median does not equally divide a triangle.
The common point where three heights of any triangle meet is defined as the orthocenter.	The common point where three medians of any triangle meet is defined as the centroid.