If the area of a triangle is (1/2)bh with base 6 and height 4, what is the area?

If the area of a triangle is (1/2)bh with base 6 and height 4, what is the area?

• A. 6
• B. 12
• C. 24
• D. 36

Answer: (B)

The area of a triangle is half the product of its base and height. With a base of 6 and a height of 4, multiply 6 by 4 to get 24, then take half to obtain 12. So the area is 12. The other numbers come from mishandling the 1/2 factor: using base times height without the half gives 24, while the remaining values don’t come from these dimensions.

The area of a triangle is half the product of its base and height. With a base of 6 and a height of 4, multiply 6 by 4 to get 24, then take half to obtain 12. So the area is 12. The other numbers come from mishandling the 1/2 factor: using base times height without the half gives 24, while the remaining values don’t come from these dimensions.