An isosceles triangle has two sides that measure the same.
An isosceles triangle is one that has two sides that measure the same , they are isosceles. The concept, therefore, is linked to the classification that is made according to what its sides measure.
It should be noted that 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 .
Isosceles triangle concept
Let us remember that polygons are flat 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 peculiarity of isosceles triangles is that two of their sides have identical lengths . 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 angles opposite the sides that have the same length are also equal. This means that these triangles not only have 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 occur in the opposite direction.
The idea of an isosceles triangle is used in geometry.
An example
If a triangle has two sides that measure 12 centimeters and one side that measures 19 centimeters, it can be classified as an isosceles triangle. Two of its sides are identical ( 12 centimeters in length), while the third has a different measurement ( 19 centimeters).
To calculate 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 is equal to 12 x 2 + 19 (that is, 43 ).
Other considerations about isosceles triangles
On the other hand, it is possible to classify triangles according to the types of internal angles they have. In this way, we can talk about the following three types of triangles: acute angled , when all its angles are less than 90°; rectangle , if it has an angle of 90° (also called right angle ); obtuse angle , in the case where one of its angles is greater than 90°.
Without a doubt, 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 rule, 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 presented so far meet on more than one occasion; For example, the square type of triangle is formally called an isosceles rectangle , since it meets the conditions of 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 a 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 the case 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 to compose the most complex objects.