Altitude triangle: Encyclopedia - Altitude triangle

Altitude (triangle)

In geometry, an altitude of a triangle is a straight line through a vertex and perpendicular to (i.e. forming a right angle with) the opposite side or an extension of the opposite side. The intersection between the (extended) side and the altitude is called the foot of the altitude. This opposite side is called the base of the altitude. The length of the altitude is the distance between the base and the vertex.

In an isosceles triangle (a triangle with two congruent sides), the altitude having the incongruent side as its base will have the midpoint of that side as its foot.

Altitudes can be used to compute the area of a triangle: one half of the product of an altitude's length and its base's length equals the triangle's area. Through trigonometric functions, it can also give the length of one side of the triangle.

In a right triangle, the altitude with the hypotenuse as base divides the hypotenuse into two lengths p and q. If we denote the length of the altitude by h, we then have the relation

The three altitudes intersect in a single point, called the orthocenter of the triangle. The orthocenter lies inside the triangle (and consequently the feet of the altitudes all fall on the triangle) if and only if the triangle is not obtuse (i.e. does not have an angle bigger than a right one). See also orthocentric system.

The orthocenter, along with the centroid, circumcenter and center of the nine-point circle all lie on a single line, known as Euler's line. The center of the nine-point circle lies at the midpoint between the orthocenter and the circumcenter, and the distance between the centroid and the circumcenter is half that between the centroid and the orthocenter.

The isogonal conjugate of the orthocenter is the circumcenter.

Four points in the plane such that one of them is the orthocenter of the triangle formed by the other three are called an orthocentric system or orthocentric quadrangle.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Altitude triangle", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki