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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Subject: isosceles triangle height Is there any way to calculate the height or the length of the equal sides of an isosceles triangle given only the base length and the angles? |
Hi Katrina,
Call the triangle ABC and let M be the midpoint of the base BC. Draw a line from A to M. Let h be the length of AM (the height of triangle ABC) and x be the length of MB, half the length of the base. Also let t be the measure of the angle BCA.
Triangle AMC is a right triangle and hence
tan t = h/x and cos t = x/s
Since you know x and t you can find h and s.
Penny
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