
hero’s formula to the rescue
290 Chapter 7
Both of these deal
with triangle area.
Let’s work on the triangle tub next. You need to work
backward from area to find side length. Which tool from
your Geometry Toolbox is the best one for this job?
Solution
Hero’s formula is A = s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c).
It finds area in terms of the sides of the
triangle, so it’s a good fit with our problem:
finding perimeter from area.
You can use this formula but
you have to do quite a lot
of gnarly algebra to get to
the sides. Not our favorite
way to spend time....
All your toolbox tools ...