Question 240911
<font face="Garamond" size="+2">


The altitude of an equilateral triangle is also a perpendicular bisector of the base.  Therefore, the height is the measure of one leg of a right triangle where the hypotenuse is the measure of one side of the equilateral triangle and the other leg measures one-half of the side of the equilateral triangle.


So, applying Pythagoras, given the measure of the side, *[tex \Large s], the height, *[tex \Large h] is:


*[tex \LARGE \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ h\ =\ \sqrt{s^2\ -\ \left(\frac{s}{2}\right)^2}\ =\ \sqrt{\frac{3s^2}{4}}\ =\ \frac{s\sqrt{3}}{2}]


Hence, for a 30 foot equilateral triangle, the height is:


*[tex \LARGE \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \frac{30\sqrt{3}}{2}\ =\ 15\sqrt{3}]



John
*[tex \LARGE e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0]
</font>