Stuck on a Related Rates Triangle Problem

[scorpa]

Hi Again,

I am doing a question on related rates that I have become stuck on.

The height (h) of an equilateral triangle is increasing at a rate of 3cm/min. How fast is the area changing when h is 5cm?

I know that the area of a triangle is bh/2, but after that I am stuck I tried deriving it using the chain rule so that I could substitute h and the rate of h, but I don't think that i was doing it the right way. If anyone could direct me here I would really appreciate the help.

 

[Jameson]

Here are some things to consider, the height "h" of an equilateral triangle is

\frac{1}{2}\sqrt{3}s

where "s" is the length of one side.

The area of this triangle is equal to

\frac{1}{2}sh

See any substitutions?

 

[futb0l]

<br /> \frac{dA}{dt} = \frac{dh}{dt} * \frac{dA}{dh}<br />