If you had a triangular patch of turf grass to be sprayed, what formula should you use to measure the area?

• A. b X h over 2
• B. b X h
• C. b X h over 3
• D. π X r^2

Answer: (A)

The area of a triangle is found by taking half of the base multiplied by the height. For a triangular patch, use any side as the base and measure the perpendicular distance from that base to the opposite vertex as the height. Half of base times height gives the area, which is essential for figuring out how much spray to apply per unit area. For example, with a base of 10 ft and a height of 6 ft, the area is 10 × 6 ÷ 2 = 30 square feet. Using base × height without dividing by 2 would give the area of a rectangle, not a triangle. The other formulas belong to other shapes (circle, or a rectangle-like calculation).