The base of an isosceles triangle is 24 cm, the lateral side is 13 cm. Calculate the area of this triangle.

The height drawn to the base of the isosceles triangle is also the median, therefore, it divides the base in half. Thus, half of the base, the side and the height drawn to the base form a right-angled triangle. Find the height:

h ^ 2 = 13 ^ 2 – (24/2) ^ 2 = 169 – 144 = 25 = 52;

h = 5 cm.

The required area of a given isosceles triangle can be found as half of the product of the length of the base by the length of the height drawn to it:

S = 0.5 * 24 * 5 = 60 cm2.