silemus.

41Area of triangle by coords

Find the area of the triangle with vertices (0, 0), (6, 0) and (2, 5).

The triangle's area is 15 square units. Since A(0,0) and B(6,0) lie on the x-axis, AB = 6 is a convenient base, and C(2,5) sits 5 units above it, so Area = ½(6)(5) = 15, confirmed by the shoelace formula.

How good is this answer?