- #1
Rijad Hadzic
- 321
- 20
Homework Statement
So I have an equilateral triangle of side(s) = 3x10^-2 m
Im trying to find the value of the distance from a point directly in the middle of the triangle, to the middle of one side.
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
What I wanted to do was, cut the triangle in half, so now I have a hypotenus, of value 3x10^-2 m, a base of half of that, 1.5x10^-2 m, and a side b which I use pythagoras to solve for.
[itex] b = ((3x10^-2)^2 - (1.5x10^-2)^2 ) ^1/2 [/itex]
which = .02598,
and now taking half of that I have the value of the distance from a point directly in the middle of the triangle, to the middle of one side.
But my book tells me I am wrong.
What they did was construct a line from one vertex of the triangle to the middle, then adjacent to that is a line l/2, and then there is another line which I'm trying to solve for, going from the middle of one side to the origin. They then used tan(30) l/2 to calculate it to .0086...
but I don't get why my method works. I'm essentially halfing the equalateral, finding the long side, and taking half of it, how doesn't that give me the value of the distance from a point directly in the middle of the triangle, to the middle of one side