The altitude of a triangle is a line segment drawn from a vertex perpendicular to the line containing the opposite side. This segment helps in determining the height of the triangle, which is crucial for calculating its area.
More specifically, each triangle has three altitudes, one from each vertex. The length of the altitude can be used in various formulas, especially when finding the area of a triangle. The area can be calculated as Area = 1/2 × base × height, where the height is represented by the altitude of the triangle.
Understanding the altitude is important in geometry as it not only helps in area calculations but also plays a role in various properties and theorems associated with triangles.