If the area of a triangle is (1/2) times base times height, which of the following expressions equals the area?

• A. A = h * b
• B. A = 2 * b * h
• C. A = (1/2) * b * h
• D. A = b + h

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is that a triangle’s area is half of the product of its base and height. So the expression that gives the area is (1/2) times base times height. This matches exactly because multiplying base by height gives the area of a rectangle with the same base and height, and a triangle is half of that rectangle, which is why the 1/2 factor appears.

The other forms don’t fit: using base times height without the 1/2 would be twice the triangle’s area, multiplying by 2 would give four times as much, and adding base and height has no geometric meaning for area.