Lesson Objectives
• Learn how to find the area of a triangle using determinants

How to Find the Area of a Triangle Using Determinants

In this lesson, we want to learn how to find the area of a triangle using determinants. A common application of matrices and determinants is being able to find the area of a triangle when the vertices are given to us as points in the coordinate plane. Suppose we have a triangle with the following vertices: $$(x_1, y_1)$$ $$(x_2, y_2)$$ $$(x_3, y_3)$$ The area of a triangle is given using the following formula: $$\text{Area}=\pm \frac{1}{2}\left| \begin{array}{ccc}x_{1}&y_{1}&1\\ x_{2}& y_{2}& 1\\ x_{3}& y_{3}& 1\end{array}\right|$$ The plus or minus sign out in front just tells us to make sure our answer is positive. It wouldn't make any sense to have a negative area. Therefore, the result of this formula should be either 0 or some positive number. Let's look at an example.
Example #1: Find the area of the triangle whose vertices are given below. $$(1, 5), (3, -2), (6, -4)$$ We can label the points in any order, just make sure to be consistent. $$\text{Point 1}:(1,5)$$ $$\text{Point 2}:(3,-2)$$ $$\text{Point 3}:(6,-4)$$ Now let's plug into our formula. $$\text{Area}=\pm \frac{1}{2}\left| \begin{array}{ccc}x_{1}&y_{1}&1\\ x_{2}& y_{2}& 1\\ x_{3}& y_{3}& 1\end{array}\right|$$ $$\text{Area}=\pm \frac{1}{2}\left| \begin{array}{ccc}1&5&1\\ 3& -2& 1\\ 6& -4& 1\end{array}\right|$$ $$\text{Area}=\pm \frac{1}{2}\cdot 17$$ $$\text{Area}=\frac{17}{2}$$ Our answer is 17/2 square units.

Skills Check:

Example #1

Find the area. $$(-2, 4), (6, 7), (3, -1)$$

A
19/2 square units
B
33/2 square units
C
77 square units
D
55/2 square units
E
13 square units

Example #2

Find the area. $$(2, 1), (1, 4), (5, -3)$$

A
3 square units
B
5/2 square units
C
2 square units
D
7/2 square units
E
19/2 square units

Example #3

Find the area. $$(7, -5), (3, 4), (9, 8)$$

A
16 square units
B
3/2 square units
C
9/5 square units
D
35 square units
E
17 square units