The Law of Sines

The Law of Sines (or Sine Rule) is very useful for solving triangles:

asin A = bsin B = csin C

It works for any triangle:

a, b and c are sides.

A, B and C are angles.

(Side a faces angle A, 

side b faces angle B and 
side c faces angle C).

And it says that:

When we divide side a by the sine of angle A 

it is equal to side b divided by the sine of angle B, 
and also equal to side c divided by the sine of angle C

Sure ... ?
Well, let's do the calculations for a triangle I prepared earlier:

asin A = 8sin(62.2°) = 80.885... = 9.04...

bsin B = 5sin(33.5°) = 50.552... = 9.06...

csin C = 9sin(84.3°) = 90.995... = 9.05...

The answers are almost the same! 

(They would be  exactly  the same if we used perfect accuracy).

So now you can see that:

asin A = bsin B = csin C

How Do We Use It?
Let us see an example:

Example: Calculate side "c"

Law of Sines:a/sin A = b/sin B = c/sin C

Put in the values we know:a/sin A = 7/sin(35°) = c/sin(105°)
Ignore a/sin A (not useful to us):7/sin(35°) = c/sin(105°)
Now we use our algebra skills to rearrange and solve:

Swap sides:c/sin(105°) = 7/sin(35°)

Multiply both sides by sin(105°):c = ( 7 / sin(35°) ) × sin(105°)
Calculate:c = ( 7 / 0.574... ) × 0.966...
 c = 11.8 (to 1 decimal place)

Finding an Unknown Angle

In the previous example we found an unknown side ...

... but we can also use the Law of Sines to find an unknown angle.

In this case it is best to turn the fractions upside down (sin A/a instead
of a/sin A, etc):

sin Aa = sin Bb = sin Cc

Example: Calculate angle B

 Start with:sin A / a = sin B / b = sin C / c
Put in the values we know:sin A / a = sin B / 4.7 = sin(63°) / 5.5
Ignore "sin A / a":sin B / 4.7 = sin(63°) / 5.5
Multiply both sides by 4.7:sin B = (sin(63°)/5.5) × 4.7
Calculate:sin B = 0.7614...
Inverse Sine:B = sin−1(0.7614...)
 B = 49.6°

Sometimes There Are Two Answers !

There is one very tricky thing we have to look out for:

Two possible answers.

Imagine we know angle A, and sides a and b.

We can swing side a to left or right and come up

with two possible results (a small triangle and a  
much wider triangle)

Both answers are right!

This only happens in the " Two Sides and an Angle not between " case, and
even then not always, but we have to watch out for it.

Just think "could I swing that side the other way to also make a correct
answer?"

Example: Calculate angle R

The first thing to notice is that this triangle has different labels: PQR instead of
ABC. But that's OK. We just use P,Q and R instead of A, B and C in The Law of
Sines.

Start with:sin R / r = sin Q / q

Put in the values we know:sin R / 41 = sin(39°)/28
Multiply both sides by 41:sin R = (sin(39°)/28) × 41
Calculate:sin R = 0.9215...
Inverse Sine:R = sin−1(0.9215...)
 R = 67.1°

But wait! There's another angle that also has a sine equal to 0.9215...

The calculator won't tell you this but sin(112.9°) is also equal to 0.9215...

So, how do we discover the value 112.9°?

Easy ... take 67.1° away from 180°, like this:

180° − 67.1° = 112.9°

So there are two possible answers for R: 67.1° and 112.9°:
 Both are possible! Each one has the 39° angle, and sides of 41 and 28.

So, always check to see whether the alternative answer makes

sense.

 ... sometimes it will (like above) and there are two solutions

 ... sometimes it won't (see below) and there is one solution

We looked at this triangle before.

As you can see, you can try swinging the "5.5" line
around, but no other solution makes sense.

So this has only one solution.

The Law of Cosines

 

For any triangle:

a, b and c are sides.

C is the angle opposite side c

The Law of Cosines (also called the Cosine Rule) says:

c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C)

It helps us solve some triangles. Let's see how to use it.

Example: How long is side "c" ... ?

 We know angle C = 37º, and sides a = 8 and b = 11

The Law of Cosines says:c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C)

Put in the values we know:c2 = 82 + 112 − 2 × 8 × 11 × cos(37º)
Do some calculations:c2 = 64 + 121 − 176 × 0.798…
More calculations:c2 = 44.44...
Take the square root:c = √44.44 = 6.67 to 2 decimal places

Answer: c = 6.67

How to Remember
How can you remember the formula?

Well, it helps to know it's the  Pythagoras Theorem  with something extra so it
works for all triangles:

Pythagoras Theorem:
2 2 2
(only for Right-Angled Triangles)a  + b  = c
Law of Cosines:
2 2 2
(for all triangles)a  + b  − 2ab cos(C) = c

So, to remember it:

 think "abc": a2 + b2 = c2,
 then a 2nd "abc": 2ab cos(C),
 and put them together: a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C) = c2
 When to Use
The Law of Cosines is useful for finding:

 the third side of a triangle when we know two sides and the angle
between them (like the example above)
 the angles of a triangle when we know all three sides (as in the
following example)
Example: What is Angle "C" ...?

The side of length "8" is opposite angle C, so it is side c. The other two sides
are a and b.

Now let us put what we know into The Law of Cosines:

Start with:c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C)

Put in a, b and c:82 = 92 + 52 − 2 × 9 × 5 × cos(C)
Calculate:64 = 81 + 25 − 90 × cos(C)
Now we use our algebra skills to rearrange and solve:

Subtract 25 from both sides:39 = 81 − 90 × cos(C)

Subtract 81 from both sides:−42 = −90 × cos(C)
Swap sides:−90 × cos(C) = −42
Divide both sides by −90:cos(C) = 42/90
Inverse cosine:C = cos−1(42/90)
Calculator:C = 62.2° (to 1 decimal place)

In Other Forms

Easier Version For Angles

We just saw how to find an angle when we know three sides. It took quite a few
steps, so it is easier to use the "direct" formula (which is just a rearrangement
2 2 2
of the c  = a  + b  − 2ab cos(C) formula). It can be in either of these
forms:

cos(C) = a2  + b2  − c22ab

cos(A) = b2 + c2 − a22bc

cos(B) = c2  + a2  − b22ca

Example: Find Angle "C" Using The Law of Cosines (angle

version)

In this triangle we know the three sides:

 a = 8,
 b = 6 and
 c = 7.

Use The Law of Cosines (angle version) to find angle C :

cos C= (a2 + b2 − c2)/2ab

 = (82 + 62 − 72)/2×8×6
 = (64 + 36 − 49)/96
 = 51/96
 = 0.53125
C= cos−1(0.53125)
 = 57.9° to one decimal place

 
Versions for a, b and c
2
Also, we can rewrite the c  = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C) formula
2
into a = and b2= form.
Here are all three:

a2 = b2 + c2 − 2bc cos(A)

b2 = a2 + c2 − 2ac cos(B)

c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C)

But it is easier to remember the "c2=" form and change the letters as needed !

As in this example:

Example: Find the distance "z"

The letters are different! But that doesn't matter. We can easily substitute x for
a, y for b and z for c

Start with:c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C)

x for a, y for b and z for cz2 = x2 + y2 − 2xy cos(Z)
Put in the values we know:z2 = 9.42 + 6.52 − 2×9.4×6.5×cos(131º)
Calculate:z2 = 88.36 + 42.25 − 122.2 × (−0.656...)
 z2 = 130.61 + 80.17...
 z2 = 210.78...
 z = √210.78... = 14.5 to 1 decimal place.

Answer: z = 14.5
Did you notice that cos(131º) is negative and this changes the last sign in the
calculation to + (plus)? The cosine of an obtuse angle is always negative
(see  Unit Circle ).