Fascinating Facts and Real Life Examples of Triangles
Most of us are fascinated with geometrical shapes. We come across numerous geometrical shapes in our daily life. Right from your bed, laptop, table, oven, books to the pizza, sandwich and other food items that you love to eat, all have a distinct geometrical shape. Triangle is a very common geometrical shape that is easily visible in the surroundings. The sandwich that you had in the morning is triangular. Kids love pizza that is circular in shape but can be cut into triangles to eat. If you observe, you will be able to see triangles everywhere around you. A triangle is a three-sided closed polygon. Three corners. three angles and three sides, that’s what a triangle is all about! The area of triangle can be used to solve some real-life problems as well. You can find more details about the types of triangles and their applications on online platforms such as Cuemath.
Let us discuss some real-life examples of triangles here
- Can you think of a monument made up of many triangles? Yes! The Eiffel Tower in Paris is 1,063 feet tall and is triangular. It is an architectural wonder made up of approximately 186 triangles. The broad base and the triangular shape provide strength to the tower which is very popular among tourists visiting France.
- The Egyptian pyramids are the most magnificent man-made structures in the history of humankind. They are tetrahedral and comprise four triangular sides that converge to a single point at the top. Millions of people are attracted towards the towering grandeur of these pyramids that remind us of Egypt’s rich and glorious past.
- Truss Bridges boast of strength that comes from supporting triangular structures. The weight of the structure can be evenly distributed by using triangles. Earlier, engineers used to face problems with rectangular shapes that used to flatten out on applying force. Thus, the bridges could not withstand much weight. This problem was resolved by incorporating triangles in the structure to increase strength.
The North Atlantic ocean is famous for the Bermuda triangle. It is believed that more than twenty airplanes and fifty ships have mysteriously disappeared there. The area is vaguely triangular and lies between Bermuda, Florida and
- The great Antilles.
- Have you noticed the prominent red triangle that is used in traffic signs displayed everywhere on the roads? These are equilateral triangles having equal angles and sides.
- The roofs of houses are constructed in a triangular shape in places where it rains or snows heavily. This is done so that water or snow falls off the roof easily, thus protecting it from any damage. The roof is generally an obtuse-angled triangle having at least one angle more than 90°.
- Multi-story houses or buildings have staircases that are based on the principle of triangles. If you observe, you will notice that the staircase is a right-angled triangle.
- You must have admired the sight of sailing boats and ships that look beautiful on a sunny day. The sail of this ship is triangular. This is done on purpose to help the boat travel against the wind using the technique of tacking. Tacking helps the boat to move forward with the wind at a right angle to the boat.
Wrapping up:
As is evident from the above examples, triangles are very important in architecture and engineering. Architects use triangles to build roofs of houses, bridges, and other structures. This is because they cannot be deformed easily. They are used to strengthen other geometrical shapes such as rectangles by adding a diagonal that turns the rectangle into two triangles. Triangulation of shapes eliminates lateral movement, thus adding strength to it. The concept of an equilateral triangle is commonly used to find the angle of elevation or the height of a mountain or a pole. Staircases are constructed on the principle of right-angle triangles. A ladder placed against a wall also makes a triangular shape. All the above facts validate the importance of triangles in real life.
