What Does isosceles triangle Mean
Triangle is a notion that comes from the Latin word triangŭlus . In the field of geometry , the concept refers to polygons that have three sides .
Remember that polygons are plane figures formed by the union of segments. In the case of triangles, they are polygons with three segments (sides), unlike quadrilaterals (four sides), pentagons (five sides) and other figures.
Triangles can be classified in different ways. The notion of an isosceles triangle is linked to the classification that is made according to what its sides measure . Those triangles that have two sides that measure the same , are isosceles.
The peculiarity of isosceles triangles, therefore, is that two of their sides have an identical length . In equilateral triangles , all three sides are equal, while in scalene triangles , all sides are different.
Returning to isosceles triangles, it should be noted that the opposite angles to the sides that have the same length are also equal. This means that these triangles have not only two equal sides, but also two equal angles . As a curious fact, which can sometimes go unnoticed, it is possible to say that every equilateral triangle is isosceles, although the same does not happen in the opposite direction.
If a triangle has two sides that are 12 centimeters and one side that is 19 centimeters, it can be classified as an isosceles triangle. Two of its sides are identical ( 12 centimeters in length), while the third has another measurement ( 19 centimeters). To find the perimeter of an isosceles triangle, you can multiply the length of the repeating side by two and then add the length of the third side. In this case, the formula indicates that the perimeter equals 12 x 2 + 19 (that is, 43 ).
On the other hand, it is possible to classify triangles according to the types of internal angles they have. In this way, we can speak of the following three types of triangles: acute , when all its angles are less than 90 °; rectangle , if it has a 90 ° angle (also called a right angle ); obtuse , in the case that one of its angles is greater than 90 °.
Undoubtedly, the right triangle is one of the most present in everyday life and in any field in which mathematics plays an important role: starting from the square, a template designed according to the shape of a right triangle and with one Of its graduated legs to use as a ruler, many commercial articles and elements of architecture are based on this geometric figure characterized by responding to the famous Pythagorean theorem : the sum of the squares of the two legs (the largest and the smallest) is equal to the length of the hypotenuse.
The two classifications exposed so far are found on more than one occasion; For example, the type of triangle in the square is formally called an isosceles rectangle , since it meets the conditions for both types. It is worth mentioning that in everyday speech, people outside the world of mathematics do not usually know this information, and that is why they also call the bevel square , a similar template , but designed according to the characteristics of a scalene right triangle .
Knowing the characteristics of each type of triangle, as well as the formulas to find its angles and the length of each of its sides can be essential in many fields, such as video game programming and three-dimensional animation, in the same way as for decades it was also for traditional drawing. Let us not forget that mathematics is present whenever we want to represent proportions, trajectories and perspectives, and that the use of the simplest geometric figures can be the best way for the composition of the most complex objects.