Triangle plotting help, area, perimeter

This is the problem, I have no idea how to do this. 1. Write a MATLAB script called Triangle to calculate the perimeter P of the triangle A-B-C defined by the x and y coordinates of points A, B, and C as listed below.

The length of triangle side a = sqrt( (Bx – Cx)2 + ( By– Cy)2 ),

Where Bx and Cx are the x-coordinates of points B and C, and By and Cy are the y-coordinates of points B and C.

Therefore for the points shown below, length of side a = sqrt( (220 – 480)2 + ( 320 – 230)2 )

x y Point coordinates in feet: A ( 90 , 130 ) B ( 220 , 320 ) C ( 480 , 230 )

2. Add to the script a formula for calculating the area of the triangle

Answer 1

[Roger Stafford]

Hint: Once you have solved the first part, go here to see one way to solve 2.:

 http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HeronsFormula.html

There are other formulas for finding the area, however, for which numerical computation is more accurate. One I am thinking of involves the cross product of two vectors. Another makes use of a certain determinant. (End of hints.)