College Algebra, Chapter 7, 7.4, Section 7.4, Problem 58

Use a determinant to find the area of the triangle with vertices $(-2,5), (7,2), (3, -4)$ and sketch the triangle.








$
\begin{equation}
\begin{aligned}

\text{area } = \pm \frac{1}{2} \left| \begin{array}{ccc}
-2 & 5 & 1 \\
7 & 2 & 1 \\
3 & -4 & 1
\end{array} \right| =& \pm \frac{1}{2} \left[ -2 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
2 & 1 \\
-4 & 1
\end{array} \right| - 5 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
7 & 1 \\
3 & 1
\end{array} \right| + 1 \left| \begin{array}{cc}
7 & 2 \\
3 & -4
\end{array} \right| \right]
\\
\\
=& \pm \frac{1}{2} \left[ -2 (2 \cdot 1 - 1 \cdot (-4)) - 5 (7 \cdot 3 - 1 \cdot 3) + (7 \cdot (-4) - 2 \cdot 3) \right]
\\
\\
=& \frac{-1}{2} (-66) \quad \text{to make the area positive, we use negative sign in the formula}
\\
\\
=& 33 \text{ square units}

\end{aligned}
\end{equation}
$

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Single Variable Calculus, Chapter 3, 3.6, Section 3.6, Problem 34

In “Fahrenheit 451,” what does Faber mean by “Those who don’t build must burn. It’s as old as history and juvenile delinquents”?

In what ways might RFID technology be used to serve customers better? What problems might arise? Do you think that the technology might be valuable when implanted in animals or people?