SOLUTION: Please help figure this out. "The perimeter of an equilateral triangle is 36 inches. Find the length of the altitude of the triangle."

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Question 613548: Please help figure this out. "The perimeter of an equilateral triangle is 36 inches. Find the length of the altitude of the triangle."
Answer by nerdybill(7384) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
"The perimeter of an equilateral triangle is 36 inches. Find the length of the altitude of the triangle."
Since the sides of an equilateral triangle are the identical, we now know each side is 36/3 = 12 inches
.
Now, we apply Pythagorean theorem to find the altitude:
Let a = altitude
then
a%5E2+%2B+6%5E2+=+12%5E2
a%5E2+%2B+36+=+144
a%5E2+=+108
a+=+sqrt%28108%29
a+=+sqrt%282%2A2%2A3%2A3%2A3%29
a+=+2%2A3sqrt%283%29
a+=+6sqrt%283%29 inches
or approximately:
a = 10.39 inches