Forester triangle

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Schematic representation of the process

The forester's triangle is a simple aid for determining the height of vertical objects such as trees, towers or masts.

application

The location is chosen so that the observer can use the hypotenuse of the right-angled triangle to locate the tip of the object if the triangle is held in such a way that one cathetus is exactly horizontal and the other is exactly vertical (see picture). Then the distance to the object is measured (e.g. with a tape measure or by pacing). The height of the object can then be calculated from the distance and the two sides of the triangle using the ray theorem :

For a right-angled isosceles triangle (both sides are of the same length) the fraction has the value one, and then simply applies:

See also

Web links

  • Gabriele Rettenmaier: Measuring in Geometry. (PDF; 2.42 MB) Script from the Weingarten University of Education. Retrieved March 12, 2016 .