Video Transcript
Given that π΄πΆ equals eight centimeters and the radius equals eight centimeters, find the area of triangle π΄π΅πΆ rounded to the nearest integer.
And then we have a diagram which shows a circle with a triangle inscribed within it. We notice that line π΄π΅ passes through the center of the circle, and so line π΄π΅ is the diameter. So before we work out the area of the triangle weβve been given, letβs identify what extra information we can calculate given the information weβve been given. We are told that π΄πΆ equals eight centimeters and that the radius is equal to eight centimeters. This means line segments π΅π and ππ΄ are both eight centimeters.
Now, in fact, since point π is the center of the circle and πΆ lies on the circumference, we see that ππΆ also forms the radius of our circle. So ππΆ is also eight centimeters. And this is really useful since we know that all angles in an equilateral triangle, that is, a triangle where all three sides are of equal length, are 60 degrees. But this doesnβt necessarily help us find the area of triangle π΄π΅πΆ. Remember, the formula that we can use to find the area of a triangle is a half times base times height. So if we could work out the length of the base and the height of this triangle π΄π΅πΆ, weβd be able to find its area.
Now, in fact, we can quite quickly work out which sides of our triangle represent the base and the height. The base and the height must be perpendicular to one another. So weβre interested in sides π΄πΆ and π΅πΆ. But how do we know that? Well, we know that the angle subtended by the diameter is 90 degrees. Our angle π΅πΆπ΄ is indeed subtended from the diameter, so π΅πΆπ΄ is 90 degrees. So we can define π΄πΆ to be the base of our triangle and that is eight centimeters in length. But then this means that π΅πΆ is the height of our triangle. So what is the length of π΅πΆ?
Well, now that we know we have a right triangle and we know a couple of the angles given in this triangle, we can work out the length of π΅πΆ using right-triangle trigonometry. Here is our triangle π΄π΅πΆ with the right angle at πΆ. We calculated that the measure of angle π΄ is 60 degrees. And of course, weβre trying to find the length of π΅πΆ, so letβs define that to be equal to π₯ centimeters. This side of the triangle lies directly opposite the included angle of 60 degrees, whilst the side π΄πΆ is adjacent to the angle. And so we need to identify the trigonometric ratio that links the opposite side with the adjacent, that is, the tangent ratio. tan π is opposite over adjacent.
In this case then, tan of 60 is π₯ divided by eight. But of course, tan of 60 is one of our exact value ratios. Itβs the square root of three, so we get root three equals π₯ divided by eight. And if we multiply through by eight, we find that π₯ is equal to eight root three, and thatβs great. We now know the length of π΅πΆ, which we said was the height of our triangle. Itβs eight root three centimeters. So the area of our triangle is one-half times eight times eight root three. In exact form, that gives us 32 root three square centimeters. But If we enter this into our calculator, correct to the nearest integer, thatβs 55 square centimeters. And so the area of triangle π΄π΅πΆ correct to the nearest integer is 55 square centimeters.
Now, itβs worth noting that we didnβt actually need to use right-triangle trigonometry. Instead, if weβd recognize that π΄π΅ is the diameter and therefore 16 centimeters in length and we already knew that triangle π΄πΆπ΅ was a right triangle at πΆ, we could have used the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the length of π΅πΆ. In that case, we once again would have got eight root three, giving us a final area of 55 square centimeters. Either method is perfectly valid.