McGraw Hill Integrated II, 2012
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McGraw Hill Integrated II, 2012 View details
6. The Law of Sines and Law of Cosines
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Exercise 10 Page 674

Begin by using the Law of Cosines to find XY.

XY ≈ 9.9
m ∠ X ≈ 63^(∘)
m ∠ Y ≈ 54^(∘)

Practice makes perfect

Let's begin by drawing △ XYZ and labeling the lengths of the sides. We will also color code the opposite angles and sides. It will help us use the Law of Sines and Law of Cosines later.

Let's find the measures of XY, ∠ X, and ∠ Y one at a time.

Finding XY

The measures of two sides and one angle of the triangle are given. Therefore, we can use the Law of Cosines to find XY. X Y^2=X Z^2+Y Z^2 -2 * X Z * Y Z * cos Z Let's substitute X Z= 8.9, Y Z= 9.9, and Z= 63^(∘) to isolate X Y.
XY^2=X Z^2+Y Z^2 - 2 * X Z * Y Z * cos Z
X Y^2= 8.9^2+ 9.9^2 - 2 ( 8.9)( 9.9) cos 63^(∘)
Solve for X Y
XY^2=79.21+98.01-2(8.9)(9.9)cos 63^(∘)
XY^2=79.21+98.01-176.22cos 63^(∘)
XY^2=79.21+98.01-176.22(0.453990...)
XY^2=79.21+98.01-80.002205...
XY^2=97.217794...
XY=sqrt(97.217794...)
XY=9.859908...
XY = 9.9

Finding m ∠ X

Now that we know the triangle is isosceles, we know that measure of ∠ X is the same as measure of ∠ Z, so m∠ X=63^(∘).

Finding m ∠ Y

Finally, to find m ∠ Y we can use the Triangle Angle Sum Theorem. This tells us that the measures of the angles in a triangle add up to 180. m ∠ Y+ 63+ 63 = 180 ⇔ m ∠ Y ≈ 54

Completing the Triangle

With all of the angle measures, we can complete our diagram.