What is the formula for finding the area of a triangle?

The formula for finding the area of a triangle is based on the geometric principle that a triangle can be thought of as half of a rectangle. To calculate the area of a triangle, you multiply the base by the height and then divide by two. This is because the area of a rectangle is calculated as base multiplied by height, and since a triangle occupies half of that rectangle's area, the division by two is necessary.

In this formula, the base refers to the length of one side of the triangle, while the height is the perpendicular distance from that base to the opposite vertex. By using this method, you ensure that you are accurately measuring the triangular shape, which has a different area than other polygon forms.

Other options do not correctly represent the area of a triangle; for instance, height squared does not apply, nor does simply adding the base and height or multiplying the base by height without the necessary division to reflect the area of a triangle.