Area of Isosceles Triangle proof

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the proof of the area of an isosceles triangle, specifically the derivation of the third line in the proof. The key steps involve multiplying the expression $h(p + q)$ by $ab/ab$ to maintain equality, leading to the formulation of the area as $\frac{1}{2}h(p + q) = \frac{1}{2}ab\left(\frac{p}{a}\frac{h}{b} + \frac{h}{a}\frac{q}{b}\right)$. This manipulation clarifies how the area is expressed in terms of the triangle's height and base lengths.

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I want to know how did it arrive at the third line of this proof. I didn't get it. Thanks!
 

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paulmdrdo said:
I want to know how did it arrive at the third line of this proof. I didn't get it. Thanks!

Hi paulmdrdo,

First multiply $h(p + q)$ by $ab/ab$ (which equals $1$) to get the expression

$$ab \cdot \frac{h(p + q)}{ab}.$$

Since

$$ \frac{h(p + q)}{ab} = \frac{hp+hq}{ab} = \frac{p}{a}\frac{h}{b} + \frac{h}{a}\frac{q}{b},$$

we have

$$ ab \cdot \frac{h(p + q)}{ab} = ab\left(\frac{p}{a}\frac{h}{b} + \frac{h}{a}\frac{q}{b}\right)$$

and therefore

$$\frac{1}{2}h(p + q) = \frac{1}{2}ab\left(\frac{p}{a}\frac{h}{b} + \frac{h}{a}\frac{q}{b}\right).$$
 

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