Since area (a) of a triangle = 1/2 (b)*(h), our base will be the horizontal distance between (-4, 1) and (0, 1), which is just the absolute (positive) value of the difference between the x-values:

So b = 4 units
Now the height is the vertical distance from top to bottom, or the absolute value of the difference between y-values:

So h = 4
Now a = 1/2 (b)(h) = 1/2 (4)(4) = 1/2 (16) = 8 units squared...
