D. AREA OF A TRIANGLE
Show that the area of a triangle whose vertices are the origin and the points
and 
The direction ratios of OA are 
Also OA 
and OB 
∴ the d.c.' s of OA are 
and the d.c.'s of OB are 
Hence if θ is the angle between the line OA and OB, then
sin θ 
Hence the area of ΔOAB

Ex.6 Find the area of the triangle whose vertices are A(1, 2, 3), B(2, -1, 1)and C(1, 2, -4).
Sol. Let Δx, Δy, Δz be the areas of the projections of the area Δ of triangle ABC on the yz, zx and xy-planes respectively. We have
Δx =
Δy =
Δz =
∴ the required area Δ = 
Ex.7 A plane is passing through a point P(a, -2a, 2a),
at right angle to OP, where O is the origin to meet the axes in A, B and C. Find the area of the triangle ABC.
Sol. OP 
Equation of plane passing through P(a, -2a, 2a) is
A(x - a) + B(y + 2a) + C(z - 2a) = 0.
∵ the direction cosines of the normal OP to the plane ABC are proportional to a - 0, -2a - 0, 2a - 0 i.e. a, -2a, 2a. ⇒ equation of plane ABC is
a(x - a) - 2a(y + 2a) + 2a(z - 2a) = 0 or ax - 2ay + 2az = 9a2 ....(1)
Now projection of area of triangle ABC on ZX, XY and YZ planes are the triangles AOC, AOB and BOC respectively.





| 1. What is the formula for finding the area of a triangle? | ![]() |
| 2. How do you calculate the area of a triangle if you know the lengths of its sides? | ![]() |
| 3. Can you find the area of a triangle if you know only the lengths of two sides and the included angle? | ![]() |
| 4. How can you determine the equation of a plane given three non-collinear points on the plane? | ![]() |
| 5. Is it possible to find the equation of a plane if you know the coordinates of a point on the plane and the normal vector of the plane? | ![]() |