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| 14 Theory slides |
| 8 Exercises - Grade E - A |
| Each lesson is meant to take 1-2 classroom sessions |
Here are a some recommended readings before getting started with this lesson.
Take a look at the following triangles. Think whether they can be solved by using the Law of Sines or the Law of Cosines.
The following figure shows a circle circumscribed around a non-right triangle. Notice that none of the triangle's sides correspond to the diameter of the circle. What is the area of the circle?
Trigonometric ratios are often used to solve right triangles, but they cannot be used to solve non-right, or oblique, triangles. For these triangles, the Law of Sines and the Law of Cosines are particularly useful because they can be used to solve any triangle, right or oblique. To solve a triangle using the Law of Sines or the Law of Cosines, three pieces of information must be known.
Case | Given Information | Law | Strategy |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Two angles and a side length | Law of Sines | The Triangle Angle Sum Theorem can be used to find the missing angle measure. Then the Law of Sines can be used to find the unknown side lengths. |
2 | Two side lengths and a non-included angle | Law of Sines | The Law of Sines can be used to solve for one of the unknown angle measures. Then the Triangle Angle Sum Theorem can be used to find the third angle measure. Finally, the Law of Sines can be applied one more time to find the unknown side length. |
3 | Three side lengths | Law of Cosines | The Law of Cosines can be used to find any of the unknown angle measures. Then, either the Law of Sines or the Law of Cosines can be used to find another missing angle measure. Finally, the Triangle Angle Sum Theorem can be used to find the third angle measure. |
4 | Two side lengths and their included angle | Law of Cosines | The Law of Cosines can be used to find the missing side length. Then, either the Law of Cosines or the Law of Sines can be used used to find a missing angle measure. Finally, the Triangle Angle Sum Theorem can be used to find the last angle measure. |
Zain is vacationing in Italy. They were in Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower when a question came across their mind. What would the tower's height be if it was not a leaning tower? Zain's distance to the tower is 80 meters and they can measure an angle of elevation of 37∘ to the tower's top. Furthermore, the guidebook states that the tower's inclination is about 4∘.
Remembering a Geometry lesson, they realize that the situation can be modeled using a non-right triangle. Help Zain calculate the height of the upright tower. Write the answer rounded to one decimal place.
The inclination angle and its adjacent angle are complementary angles.
The situation can be modeled using a non-right triangle.
Substitute values
LHS⋅sin37∘=RHS⋅sin37∘
Use a calculator
Rearrange equation
Round to 1 decimal place(s)
Magdalena is doing some research in the forest for a biology project. She has a device that allows her to measure angles. She can also measure the distance from a tree to her device. To help Magdalena complete her research project, find the lengths of different trees, rounded to one decimal place.
As mentioned before, the Law of Sines and the Law of Cosines are valid for all types of triangles, including both right and non-right triangles. However, the definitions of the sine and cosine of an angle are given in terms of the ratios of a right triangle's sides.
Therefore, these definitions do not seem to be compatible with obtuse angles. Nevertheless, they can be extended to deal with obtuse angles by considering the following identities.
The sine of supplementary angles are equal. Conversely, the cosine of supplementary angles are opposite values.
Ignacio's grandparent wants to construct a fence for a quadrilateral piece of land. To find the perimeter of the land, he starts measuring its sides using an old trundle wheel. Unfortunately, after measuring just two sides, the trundle wheel breaks.
Ignacio wants to help his grandparent and, in an attempt to simplify the problem, he divides the land into two triangles. Then, by using a compass, he is able to measure the angles of these triangles.
Since two side lengths and the measure of their included angle are known in △ABC, the Law of Cosines can be used to solve for the missing side length.
Note that two side lengths and all the angle measurements are known in △ABC.
Now, △ACD will be considered.
Kriz is setting up for a free shots on an empty goal. When considering their distance to both goal posts, they realize that the Law of Cosines can be used to calculate the top measure of the angle in which they must kick the ball in order to score. They are practicing with a standard 7.3 meter net. Help Kriz calculate this angle and score the goal! Write the answer rounded to one decimal place.
The situation can be modeled using a triangle with three known side lengths.
The distance from the tower at the left to the smartphone is about 4.5 blocks. The distance from the tower at the right to the phone is about 2.8 blocks. The towers are 6 blocks apart. Therefore, the situation can be modeled using a triangle with three known sides lengths.
Substitute values
Calculate power
Add terms
Multiply
LHS−56.25=RHS−56.25
LHS/(-54)=RHS/(-54)
Rearrange equation
cos-1(LHS)=cos-1(RHS)
Use a calculator
Round to nearest integer
Substitute values
LHS⋅4.5=RHS⋅4.5
Use a calculator
Round to nearest integer
Rearrange equation
Substitute values
LHS⋅4.5=RHS⋅4.5
Use a calculator
Round to nearest integer
Rearrange equation
The missing angle can be found by using the Triangle Angle Sum Theorem.
Because two angles and the included side are known, this problem can be approached by using the Law of Sines to find the distance between the helicopter and one of the radar stations. Once one of the missing side lengths is determined, trigonometric ratios can be used to find the altitude, or height, of the helicopter. The first thing to do is to find the unknown angle.
Substitute values
LHS⋅sin45∘=RHS⋅sin45∘
Use a calculator
Rearrange equation
Round to 1 decimal place(s)
Substitute values
LHS⋅21.3=RHS⋅21.3
Use a calculator
Rearrange equation
Round to 1 decimal place(s)
The Law of Sines states that for any triangle, the ratio of the sine of an angle to the length of its opposite side is constant. However, this is not just any constant. In fact it has an important geometrical interpretation.
The following goes for any triangle. The diameter of a triangle's circumcircle is equal to the ratio of a side length to the sine of its opposite angle.
Now, consider the above figure and let D be the diameter of the circle. With the given information, the following equation holds true.
sinAa=sinBb=sinCc=D
The proof can be completed in two parts. Part I shows how the sides of a triangle are proportional to the sines of the opposite angles. Part II shows this proportion is equal to the diameter of the circle circumscribed around the triangle.
Consider a triangle ABC with side lengths a, b, and c, and angle measures A, B, and C.
Draw the circumcircle of the triangle ABC with its circumcenter O.
By the Inscribed Angle Theorem, the measure of A is half of the measure of the intercepted arc BC.
Now, draw the central angle with the intercepted arc BC. Recall that a central angle and its intercepted arc have the same measure. Therefore, the measure of BC is equal to the measure of m∠COB.
Note that OB and OC are both equal to the radius R. Hence, △COB is an isosceles triangle with two congruent sides OB and OC.
Now, focus on △COB. Draw its altitude from the vertex angle O. Since △COB is an isosceles triangle, the altitude bisects both the vertex angle and the opposite side.
The challenge presented at the beginning of this lesson can be solved by using a combination of the Law of Sines, the Law of Cosines, and the extended form of the Law of Sines.
The question here was to find the area of the circle. This will be answered by first finding the ratio of the triangle's side lengths to the sine of their opposite angles.
Since two side lengths and the included angle are known, the Law of Cosines can be used to find the missing side length. Because the missing side is opposite to the known angle, finding the side length will allow to calculate the desired ratio.
r=2.6
Calculate power
Commutative Property of Multiplication
Use a calculator
Round to 1 decimal place(s)
Find the area A indicated in yellow in the diagram. Round the answer to one decimal place.
The area of the shaded part A can be found by calculating the difference of the |area of the circumscribed circle A_c and the area of the triangle A_t. A = A_c - A_t Therefore, the approach to solve this problem will be the following:
Since two side lengths and their included angle are known, the Law of Cosines can be used to find the missing side length. Moreover, because the missing side is opposite to the known angle, finding the side length will allow to use the Extended version of the Law of Sines to find the diameter.
Let's find the missing length of the side a by using the Law of Cosines.
In this case, only the principal root is considered because a side length is always positive. Therefore, the missing side length is about 4.6 units.
Now that the measure of ∠ A and the length of its opposite side a are known, the extended form of the Law of sines can be used to find the circumscribed circle's diameter D.
Recall that the radius of a circle is half its diameter. Radius: 5.0/2=2.5 units With this information, the area of the circle can now be calculated.
The area of the circumscribed circle is about 19.6 square units.
Next we need to find the area of the triangle. There are many ways to calculate the area of a triangle. Here, the more convenient way is to use the formula for the area of a triangle using sine. A_t = 1/2bcsin A Let's substitute the values and evaluate the area expression.
The area of the part shaded in yellow A can be found by calculating the difference of the area of the circumscribed circle A_c and the area of the triangle A_t.
Therefore, the yellow area is about 11.4 square units.
The following diagram shows three circles tangent to each other with radii of 4, 6, and 8 centimeters. As shown, their centers define a triangle.
Recall that the distance from the center of a circle to any point of its circumference equals the radius of the circle. Note that all of the triangle's side lengths are defined as the distance between the centers of two of the circles. Since all the circles are tangent to each other, the side lengths of the triangle are the sum of the radii of the corresponding circles.
Using this information, the triangle's side lengths can be calculated. AB = 4+ 6 = 10 BC = 6+ 8 = 14 AC = 4+ 8 = 12 Now that the side lengths of the triangle are known, the next thing to do is to find the angle measures.
We can find the angle measures by using the Law of Cosines.
Let's use the Law of Cosines once more to find another angle.
Now we can find the last angle by using the Interior Angles Theorem. 78^(∘)+57^(∘) + m∠ C = 180^(∘) ⇓ m∠ C=45^(∘) As we can see, ∠ A is the largest angle.
It is important to note that the area of the space indicated in gray A can be calculated as the difference of the area of the triangle A_t and the total area covered by the three circular sectors overlapping the triangle A_c. A = A_t-A_c Then, we will proceed in the following way:
Because the angle measures are now known, it is possible to calculate the areas of the circle sectors overlapping the triangle.
Recall that the area of a sector of a circle can be calculated if the central angle, θ, is known. Area of Sector = θ/360^(∘) * π r^2 Note that the measure of central angle of each sector equals the measure of the corresponding triangle vertex. Let's first calculate the area of the sector of the circle with radius of 4 centimeters, A_1.
Therefore, the area of the indicated sector of the circle A_1 with a radius of 4 centimeters is about 10.89cm^2. The areas of the other circular sectors can be calculated in the same way. A_2&=57 ^(∘)/360^(∘) * π ( 6^2)≈ 17.91 [1em] A_3&=44 ^(∘)/360^(∘) * π ( 8^2)≈ 24.57 Let's now calculate the total area covered by the three circular sectors, A_c.
The total area covered by the three circular sectors is about 53.37cm^2.
There are many ways to calculate the area of a triangle. Here, the more convenient way is to use the formula for the area of a triangle using sine because all sides and angle measures are known. A_t = 1/2bcsin A Let's substitute the values and evaluate the area expression.
The approximated area of the part indicated in gray A can be found by calculating the difference of the area of the triangle A_t and the total area covered by the three circular sectors A_c, which we have already found.
The area of the space indicated in gray is about 5.32cm^2.