Equilateral triangle terms of side length "a" can be derived directly using the Pythagorean theorem or using trigonometry. The area of a triangle is half of one side "a" times the height "h" from that side: The legs of either right triangle formed by an altitude of the equilateral triangle are half of the base "a", and the hypotenuse is the side "a" of the equilateral triangle. The height of an equilateral triangle can be found using the Pythagorean theorem so that Substituting "h" into the area formula (1/2)"ah" gives the area formula for the equilateral triangle: Using trigonometry, the area of
Automedian triangle much more recent. The problem of characterizing automedian triangles was posed in the late 19th century in the "Educational Times" (in French) by Joseph Jean Baptiste Neuberg, and solved there with the formula 2"a" = "b" + "c" by William John Greenstreet. Apart from the trivial cases of equilateral triangles, the triangle with side lengths 17, 13, and 7 is the smallest (by area or perimeter) automedian triangle with integer side lengths. There is only one automedian right triangle, the triangle with side lengths proportional to 1, , and . This triangle is the second triangle in the spiral of