If each side of an equilateral triangle is halved, its area will be :

1. halved

2. four times

3. unaltered

4. one-fourth

Area of equilateral triangle = $\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{4} \times side^2$

If each side of the equilateral triangle is halved, then the new area will be:

New area = $\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{4} \times \Big(\dfrac{side}{2}\Big)^2$

= $\dfrac{1}{4}\Big(\dfrac{\sqrt{3}}{4} \times side^2\Big)$

= $\dfrac{1}{4}$ x Original area

Therefore, the new area of the equilateral triangle will be one-fourth of the original area.

Hence, option 4 is the correct option.