SOLUTION: The side of an equilateral triangle are each s units long. Find the altitude (h) in terms of s. Write the answer in simplest radical form.

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Question 203547: The side of an equilateral triangle are each s units long. Find the altitude (h) in terms of s. Write the answer in simplest radical form.
Answer by Earlsdon(6294) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The altitude bisects the equilateral triangle into two congruent right triangles in which the altitude (of the equilateral triangle) is also the altitude (h) of both right triangles.
Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can find h in terms of the side (s) of the equilateral triangle.
h%5E2+=+s%5E2-%28s%2F2%29%5E2 Simplifying.
h%5E2+=+s%5E2-s%5E2%2F4
h%5E2+=+%283%2F4%29s%5E2 Taking the square root of both sides, we get:
highlight%28h+=+%28sqrt%283%29s%29%2F2%29