Comparison between Matrix and Herons Formula

in Finding the Area of a Triangle

Given the Coordinates





A Technical Paper
Presented to
Mr. Ron Michael Fernandez
of Engineering and Architecture Department
of Divine Word College of Calapan





In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Subject
English III: Technical Communications







By

Sharyn D. Villarez
Jann Kebby G. Quilao
Elynah Roseyell M. Mistiola
Christine N. Guevarra
Jholo J. Zulueta

October 2013









Abstract: There are set of useful methods that can be used to find the area of the triangle but these
methods could risk the definitive answer to the problem. In order to obtain a definite answer, the method
to be used must be meticulously examined and ensured to produce an exact outcome, but due to the
existence and possibility of percentage errors, absolute values are taken under consideration. The analysis
of two methods, the Matrix and Herons Formula, aimed to determine the more convenient and distinctive
way to find the area given the coordinates of a triangle.

Keywords: Matrix, Herons Formula, Area, Triangle, Coordinates

I. INTRODUCTION

In mathematics, a matrix (plural matrices) is
a rectangular array of numbers, symbols,
or expressions, arranged in rows and columns.
The individual items in a matrix are called
its elements or entries.
A matrix is a concise and useful way of
uniquely representing and working with linear
transformations. In particular, every linear
transformation can be represented by a matrix,
and every matrix corresponds to a unique linear
transformation. The matrix, and its close relative
the determinant, are extremely important
concepts in linear algebra, and were first
formulated by Sylvester (1851) and Cayley.
In his 1851 paper, Sylvester wrote, "For this
purpose we must commence, not with a square,
but with an oblong arrangement of terms
consisting, suppose, of lines and columns.
This will not in itself represent a determinant,
but is, as it were, a Matrix out of which we may
form various systems of determinants by fixing
upon a number , and selecting at will lines
and columns, the squares corresponding of th
order." Because Sylvester was interested in the
determinant formed from the rectangular array
of number and not the array itself (Kline 1990,
p. 804), Sylvester used the term "matrix" in its
conventional usage to mean "the place from
which something else originates" (Katz 1993).
Sylvester (1851) subsequently used the term
matrix informally, stating "Form the rectangular
matrix consisting of rows and
columns.... Then all the determinants that
can be formed by rejecting any one column at
pleasure out of this matrix are identically zero."
However, it remained up to Sylvester's
collaborator Cayley to use the terminology in its
modern form in papers of 1855 and 1858 (Katz
1993).
In his 1867 treatise on determinants,
C. L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) objected to the
use of the term "matrix," stating, "I am aware
that the word 'Matrix' is already in use to express
the very meaning for which I use the word
'Block'; but surely the former word means rather
the mould, or form, into which algebraical
quantities may be introduced, than an actual
assemblage of such quantities...." However,
Dodgson's objections have passed unheeded and
the term "matrix" has stuck.
There are further applications of matrices;
some of these involved the Graph Theory, where
the adjacency matrix of a finite graph is a basic
notation of theory. In Physics, there are the
linear combinations of quantum states where the
first model of quantum mechanics by
Heisenberg in 1925 represented the theorys
operators by infinite-dimensional matrices
acting on quantum states. This is also referred to
as matrix mechanics. There is also matrix in
computer graphics, where 4x4 transformation
rotation matrices are commonly used in
computer graphics. Other applications of Matrix
are the use of Row reduction, Cramers Rule or
Determinants and using the inverse matrix and
lastly, Cryptography.
In geometry, Heron's (or Hero's) formula, named
after Heron of Alexandria,
[1]
states that
the area T of a triangle whose sides have
lengths a, b, and c is

where s is the semiperimeter of the triangle:


The formula is credited to Heron (or Hero) of
Alexandria, and a proof can be found in his
book, Metrica, written c. A.D. 60. It has been
suggested that Archimedes knew the formula
over two centuries earlier, and since Metrica is a
collection of the mathematical knowledge
available in the ancient world, it is possible that
the formula predates the reference given in that
work. Heron's proof (Dunham 1990) is
ingenious but extremely convoluted, bringing
together a sequence of apparently unrelated
geometric identities and relying on the
properties of cyclic quadrilaterals and right
triangles. Heron's proof can be found in
Proposition 1.8 of his work Metrica (ca. 100
BC-100 AD). This manuscript had been lost for
centuries until a fragment was discovered in
1894 and a complete copy in 1896 (Dunham
1990, p. 118).
More recently, writings of the Arab scholar
Abu'l Raihan Muhammed al-Biruni have
credited the formula to Heron's predecessor
Archimedes prior to 212 BC (van der Waerden
1961, pp. 228 and 277; Coxeter and Greitzer
1967, p. 59; Kline 1990; Bell 1986, p. 58;
Dunham 1990, p. 127).
II. METHODS FOR FINDING THE
AREA OF TRIANGLE GIVEN THE
COORDINATES
There are many methods for finding the area of
a triangle and the proponents conducted an
experiment to identify the more convenient way
of solving the area of the triangle. The methods
suggested for solving the area are Herons
Formula and Matrix.
In Herons Formula, the method started with
determining the distances between the given
points and the distances are summed up and
divided by 2 in order to find the semi perimeter
and lastly Herons Formula is used.
In Herons Formula, the area T of triangle
whose sides are a, b, and c:
and s is the semiperimeter of the triangle:


In Matrix, the coordinates are arranged where
the xs of all points are in the first row, the ys in
the second row and the last column are all ones,
then evaluate the determinant and lastly divide it
by 2 resulting to the area of the triangle.
In Matrix,

A=

A= [(x
1
y
2
+x
2
y
3
+x
3
y
1
)-(y
1
x
2
+y
2
x
3
+y
3
x
1
)]

III. PRESENTATION OF DATA
Both methods are tested according to the
following parameters:
Time
Accuracy
Percentage Error
The proponents presented ten sample problems
for solving the area of the triangle with different
givens of coordinates of a triangle.
The conducted experiment claimed to grant the
following to the parameters:
To measure the time, proponents introduced
problems to be answered with recorded time
resulting in the comparison of time consumed by
the two methods.
To verify accuracy, there are ten problems
given. The successfully answered problems are
divided by the number of problems and
multiplied to 100.
To determine the percentage error, proponents
used the formula of percentage error by
subtracting the exact value of the answer from
the approximate value and divided by the exact
value and multiplied by 100.
The following are the recorded data of
parameters using the Matrix Method:
Table 1 Parameters Calculated for Matrix
The following are the recorded data of
parameters using Herons Formula:
Table 2 Parameters Calculated for Herons
Formula





Problem



Time
(min:secs)



Percentage
Error

1

01:05.97

0%

2

00:54.54

0%

3

00:48.82

0%

4

00:53.39

0%

5

00:59.97

0.5%

6

00:55.17

0%

7

00:47.07

0%

8

00:39.96

0%

9

00:45.99

0%

10

00:49.00

0%



Problem


Time
(min:secs)


Percentage
Error

1

02:59.02

0%

2

02:00.73

0%

3

01:43.09

0%

4

01:24.64

0%

5

01:41.29

0%

6

01:40.03

0.2%

7

01:42.24

0%

8

01:08.85

0.2%

9

01:42.10

0%

10

01:35.26

0.2%
IV. INTERPRETATION OF DATA
The following are the interpretations of data:
In Table 1, the calculated parameters for
Matrix showed results in accordance to the time
consumed and percentage error. Among the ten
problems, problem 5 established a 0.5%
percentage error.
In Table 2, the parameters calculated showed
a huge difference to the parameters established
in Table 1. Problems 6, 8 and 10 produced 0.2%
percentage error.
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Comparative Results between the Two Methods
in Solving for the Area


Matrix

Herons
Formula

Accuracy

90%

80%
Average Time
(min:secs)

00:52.12

01:45.45

Percentage Error

0.5%

0.6%

According to the data table, the results
presented gave an understanding about the
comparison between methods with regards to the
accuracy, time and percentage error.
Based on the results:
In terms of accuracy, the computed
percentage is 90% in Matrix and 80% in
Herons Formula.
In terms of time, the computed time for
Matrix is 52.12 seconds while 1 minute
and 45.45 seconds for Herons Formula.
In terms of percentage error, the
computed percentage for Matrix is 0.5%
while 0.6% for Herons Formula.

VI. CONCLUSIONS
The following conclusions are drawn from
following the study:
1. Familiarity in the usage of either two
methods shortens the time consumed in
solving for the area of the triangle.
2. Matrix Method had a higher accuracy
than of Herons Formula.
3. The time required for solving the area
using the Matrix is proved to be less
than a minute.
4. The use of Matrix Method minimized
the percentage of error.
5. Herons Formula had a lower accuracy
than of the Matrix Method.
6. Herons Formula consumed more time
for solving the area.
7. Herons Formula had a larger
percentage error than of the Matrix
Method.
8. There is a 10% interval between the two
methods in terms of accuracy.
9. There is 53.03-second interval between
the two methods in terms of time.
10. There is 0.1% interval of percentage of
error between the two methods.
VII. RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the analysis of results of the
calculated parameters, it is recommended that:
1. Matrix Method should be used in
finding the area of the triangle.
2. Matrix Method should be used to obtain
results that are close to the exact value.
3. Use Matrix Method to save time and
effort.
4. Matrix Method can provide accurate
answers.
REFERENCES
[1] En.wikipedia.org.2013. Matrix
(mathematics).[online]Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(ma
thematics) [Accessed: 5 Oct 2013].
[2] Heath, Thomas L. (1921). A History of
Greek Mathematics (Vol II). Oxford
University Press. pp. 321323.
[3] Weisstein, Eric W. "Matrix."
From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web
Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.co
m/Matrix.html
[4] Weisstein, Eric W. "Heron's Formula."
From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web
Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.co
m/HeronsFormula.html
[5] Slideshare.net. 2013. Matrices And
Application Of Matrices. [online]
Available at:
http://www.slideshare.net/mailrenuka/m
atrices-and-application-of-matrices
[Accessed: 6 Oct 2013].