Chap31 - 498-520.

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Pythagoras’ theorem
31
CHAPTER 10 Linear equations

and trigonometry (2)

CHAPTER

In Chapter 19, Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry were used to find the lengths of sides and the sizes
of angles in right-angled triangles. These methods will now be used with three-dimensional shapes.

31.1 Problems in three dimensions

In a cuboid all the edges are perpendicular to each other.
Problems with cuboids and other 3-D shapes involve identifying suitable right-angled
triangles and applying Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry to them.

Example 1 H G
ABCDEFGH is a cuboid with length 8 cm, breadth 6 cm and
height 9 cm. E F
a i Calculate the length of AC. 9 cm
ii Calculate the length of AG.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures.
D
b Calculate the size of angle GAC. C
Give your answer correct to the nearest degree. 6 cm
Solution 1 A 8 cm B
a i C Look for a right-angled triangle where AC is one side and the lengths of the
other two sides are known.
6 cm ABC is a suitable triangle.
So draw triangle ABC marking the known lengths.
A B
8 cm

AC2  AB2  BC2 Use Pythagoras’ theorem for this triangle.

 82  62
 64  36
 100 Look for a right-angled triangle where AG is one side and the lengths of the
other two sides are known.
AC  10 cm
ACG is a suitable triangle. G
ii G So draw triangle ACG
marking the known lengths.

9 cm
C
A C A
10 cm

AG2  AC2  CG2 Use Pythagoras’ theorem for this triangle.

AG2  102  92
 100  81
 181
AG  181
  13.4536 …
AG  13.5 cm (to 3 s.f.)
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31.1 Problems in three dimensions CHAPTER 31

b G For angle GAC. tan (angle GAC) 190  0.9 opp

tan  
9 cm is the opposite side. angle GAC  41.987 …° adj

9 cm 10 cm is the adjacent side. Angle GAC  42°

(to the nearest degree)
A C
10 cm

Exercise 31A


Where necessary give lengths correct to 3 significant figures and angles correct to one decimal place.
1 ABCDEFGH is a cuboid of length 8 cm, breadth 4 cm and H G
height 13 cm.
E F
a Calculate the length of
iii AC ii GB
13 cm
iii FA iv GA.
b Calculate the size of
i angle FAB ii angle GBC iii angle GAC. D
C
4 cm
A 8 cm B
F
2 ABCDEF is a triangular prism.
In triangle ABC angle CAB  90°,
AB  5 cm and AC  12 cm.
In rectangle ABED the length C
of BE  15 cm.
a Calculate the length of CB. D E
b Calculate the length of 12 cm
i CE ii AF.
15 cm
c Calculate the size of
A B
i angle FED ii angle FAD. 5 cm

3 The diagram shows a square-based pyramid.

The lengths of sides of the square base, ABCD, are
10 cm and the base is on a horizontal plane.
The centre of the base is the point M and the vertex of 15 cm
the pyramid is O, so that OM is vertical.
The point E is the midpoint of the side AB. C
OA  OB  OC  OD  15 cm. D
a Calculate the length of i AC ii AM. M B
10 cm
b Calculate the length of OM. E
A
c Calculate the size of angle OAM.
d Hence find the size of angle AOC. B
e Calculate the length of OE.
f Calculate the size of angle OAB.

Angle between a line and a plane

Imagine a light shining directly above AB onto the plane.
N
AN is the shadow of AB on the plane.
A line drawn from point B perpendicular to the plane will meet
A
the line AN and form a right angle with this line.
Angle BAN is the angle between the line AB and the plane.
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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

Example 2 O

The diagram shows a pyramid.

The base, ABCD, is a horizontal rectangle in which AB  12 cm and AD  9 cm.
The vertex, O, is vertically above the midpoint of the base and OB  18 cm.
18 cm
Calculate the size of the angle that OB makes with the horizontal plane.
Give your answer correct to one decimal place.
C
Solution 2 D
O 9 cm B
A 12 cm

18 cm
The base, ABCD, of the pyramid is horizontal so the angle that OB makes
with the horizontal plane is the angle that OB makes with the base ABCD.
C Let M be the midpoint of the base which is directly below O.
D Join O to M and M to B.
M B As OM is perpendicular to the base of the pyramid the angle OBM is the
9 cm
12 cm angle between OB and the base and so is the required angle.
A

O Draw triangle OBM marking OB  18 cm. D Draw the right-angled

To find the size of angle OBM find the triangle ABD marking the
length of either MB or OM. known lengths.
Calculate the length of MB which is 12 DB. 9 cm
18 cm

A B
12 cm

M B

DB2  92  122  81  144 Use Pythagoras’ theorem to calculate the length of DB.
DB2  225
DB  225
  15
MB  12 DB  7.5

O For angle OBM, 18 cm is the hypotenuse, 7.5 cm is the adjacent side.

18 cm

M B
7.5 cm

7.5 adj
cos (angle OBM)   cos  
18 hyp
angle OBM  65.37 …°

The angle between OB and the

horizontal plane is 65.4° (to one d.p.)

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31.1 Problems in three dimensions CHAPTER 31

Exercise 31B


Where necessary give lengths correct to 3 significant figures and angles correct to one decimal place.

1 The diagram shows a pyramid. O

The base, ABCD, is a horizontal rectangle in which
AB  15 cm and AD  8 cm.
The vertex, O, is vertically above the centre of the
base and OA  24 cm.
Calculate the size of the angle that OA makes with
the horizontal plane. 24 cm
C
D
8 cm B
15 cm
A

2 ABCDEFGH is a cuboid with a rectangular base in which H G

AB  12 cm and BC  5 cm.
The height, AE, of the cuboid is 15 cm. E F
Calculate the size of the angle
a between FA and ABCD
b between GA and ABCD 15 cm
c between BE and ADHE D
C
d Write down the size of the angle between HE and ABFE. 5 cm
A 12 cm B

3 ABCDEF is a triangular prism. F

In triangle ABC, angle CAB  90°, AB  8 cm and AC  10 cm.
In rectangle ABED, the length of BE  5 cm.
C
Calculate the size of the angle between
a CB and ABED
b CD and ABED
c CE and ABED 10 cm
d BC and ADFC.
D E
5 cm
A 8 cm B

4 The diagram shows a square-based pyramid. O

The lengths of sides of the square base, ABCD,
are 8 cm and the base is on a horizontal plane.
The centre of the base is the point M and the vertex
of the pyramid is O so that OM is vertical. 20 cm
The point E is the midpoint of the side AB.
OA  OB  OC  OD  20 cm
C
Calculate the size of the angle between OE
and the base ABCD. D
8 cm M B
A E

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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

5 ABCD is a horizontal rectangular lawn in a garden and T

TC is a vertical pole. Ropes run from the top of the pole,
T, to the corners, A, B and D, of the lawn. 6m
a Calculate the length of the rope TA.
b Calculate the size of the angle made with the lawn by D C
i the rope TB ii the rope TD iii the rope TA.
12 m

A B
8m

6 The diagram shows a learner’s ski slope, ABCD, of length, AB, 500 m. Triangles BAF and CDE
are congruent right-angled triangles and ABCD, AFED and BCEF are rectangles.
The rectangle BCEF is horizontal and the rectangle AFED is vertical.
The angle between AB and BCEF is 20° and the angle between AC and BCEF is 10°.
D

E C

500 m

F B

Calculate
a the length of FB b the height of A above F
c the distance AC d the width, BC, of the ski slope.

7 Diagram 1 shows a square-based pyramid OABCD. O

Each side of the square is of length 60 cm and
OA  OB  OC  OD  50 cm. 50 cm
C
D
60 cm B
A 60 cm Diagram 1

Diagram 2 shows a cube, ABCDEFGH, in which C

60 cm
each edge is of length 60 cm. 60 cm
D
B
A solid is made by placing the pyramid on top of the cube
so that the base, ABCD, of the pyramid is on the top, A
ABCD, of the cube. G 60 cm
The solid is placed on a horizontal table with the face,
EFGH, on the table. H
F
a Calculate the height of the vertex O above the table.
b Calculate the size of the angle between OE and the E Diagram 2
horizontal.
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31.2 Trigonometric ratios for any angle CHAPTER 31

31.2 Trigonometric ratios for any angle

The diagram shows a circle, centre the origin O and radius 1 unit. Imagine a line, OP, of length 1 unit
fixed at O, rotating in an anticlockwise direction about O, starting from the x-axis.

The diagram shows OP when it has rotated through 40°.

0.8
P
0.6

0.4 1

0.2
40° Q
1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 O 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 x
0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

The right-angled triangle OPQ has hypotenuse OP  1

Relative to angle POQ, side PQ is the opposite side and side OQ is the adjacent side.
This means that

OQ  cos 40° and PQ  sin 40°

For P, x  cos 40° and y  sin 40° so the coordinates of P are (cos 40°, sin 40°).

In general when OP rotates through any angle  °, the position of P on the circle, radius  1 is given
by x  cos  °, y  sin  °.

The coordinates of P are (cos  °, sin  °).

So when OP rotates through 400° the coordinates of P are (cos 400°, sin 400°).
A rotation of 400° is 1 complete revolution of 360° plus a further rotation of 40°.

The position of P is the same as in the previous diagram so (cos 400°, sin 400°) is the same point as
(cos 40°, sin 40°), therefore cos 400°  cos 40° and sin 400°  sin 40°.

If OP rotates through 40° this means OP rotates through 40° in a clockwise direction.
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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

For   136,   225,   304 and   40 the position of P is shown on the diagram.
y

1.2

0.8
P
0.6

0.4
136°
0.2

1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 O 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 x
0.2 40°
225°
0.4

0.6
304° P
P 0.8
P
1

1.2

For P when   136, x  cos 136° and y  sin 136°.

From the diagram, cos 136°  0 and sin 136°  0
For P when   225, x  cos 225° and y  sin 225°.
From the diagram, cos 225°  0 and sin 225°  0
For P when   304, x  cos 304° and y  sin 304°.
From the diagram, cos 304°  0 and sin 304°  0
For P when   40, x  cos 40° and y  sin 40°.
From the diagram, cos 40°  0 and sin 40°  0
The diagram shows for each quadrant whether the sine and
sin  sin 
cosine of angles in that quadrant are positive or negative. cos  cos 
2nd 1st
3rd 4th
sin  sin 
cos  cos 

The sine and cosine of any angle can be found using your calculator. The following table shows some
of these values corrected where necessary to 3 decimal places.

 0 30 40 45 60 90 136 180 225 270 304 360

sin  ° 0 0.5 0.643 0.707 0.866 1 0.695 0 0.707 1 0.829 0
cos  ° 1 0.866 0.766 0.707 0.5 0 0.719 1 0.707 0 0.559 1
Using these values and others from a calculator the graphs of y  sin  ° and y  cos  ° can be
drawn. A graphical calculator would be useful here.
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31.2 Trigonometric ratios for any angle CHAPTER 31

Graph of y  sin  °
y Notice that the graph:
1
● cuts the -axis at … , 180, 0, 180, 360, 540, …
0.5 ● repeats itself every 360°, that is, it has a period
of 360°
● has a maximum value of 1 at   … , 90, 450, …
180 O 180 360 540 θ
● has a minimum value of 1 at
0.5   … , 90, 270, …
1

Graph of y  cos  °
y Notice that the graph:
1
● cuts the -axis at … 90, 90, 270, 450, …
0.5 ● repeats itself every 360°, that is it has a period
of 360°
● has a maximum value of 1 at   … , 0, 360, …
180 O 180 360 540 θ
● has a minimum value of 1 at
0.5   … , 180, 180, 540, …
1

Notice also that the graph of y  sin  ° and the graph of y  cos  ° are horizontal translations of
each other.
sin  °
To find the value of the tangent of any angle, use tan  °  
cos  °

From the graph of y  cos  ° it can be seen that cos  °  0 at   90, 270, 450, … for example.
As it is not possible to divide by 0 there are no values of tan  ° at   90, 270, 450, … that is, the
graph is discontinuous at these values of .

Graph of y  tan  °

y Notice that the graph:

8
● cuts the -axis where tan  °  0, that is, at …
6
4
180, 0, 180, 360, 540 …
2 ● repeats itself every 180°, that is it has a period
of 180°
180 O 180 360 540 θ
2 ● does not have values at
4
  90, 270, 450, …
6
8 ● does not have any maximum or minimum
points.
Notice also that tan  ° can take any value.

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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

Example 3
For values of  in the interval – 180 to 360 solve the equation
ii sin  °  0.7
ii 5 cos  °  2
Give each answer correct to one decimal place.

Solution 3
i sin  °  0.7 Use a calculator to find one value of  .

  44.4
y To find the other solutions draw a sketch
1 of y  sin  ° for  from 180 to 360
y  0.7

The sketch shows that there are two

values of  in the interval 180 to
360 for which sin  °  0.7
180 O 180 360 θ

One solution is   44.4 and by symmetry

1 the other solution is   180  44.4

  44.4, 180  44.4

  44.4, 135.6
ii 5 cos  °  2 Divide each side of the equation by 5

cos  °  25  0.4

  66.4 Use a calculator to find one value of  .

y To find the other solutions draw a sketch of

1 y  cos  ° for  from 180 to 360
y  0.4
The sketch shows that there are three values of  in
the interval 180 to 360 for which cos  °  0.4
180 O 180 360 θ

1 One solution is   66.4 and by symmetry

another solution is   66.4
  66.4, 66.4, 360  66.4 Using the period of the graph the other solution
  66.4, 66.4, 293.6 is   360  66.4

Exercise 31C
1 For 360

360 sketch the graph of
a y  sin  ° b y  cos  ° c y  tan  °.
2 Find all values of  in the interval 0 to 360 for which
a sin  °  0.5 b cos  °  0.1 c tan  °  1
3 a Show that one solution of the equation 3 sin  °  1 is 19.5, correct to 1 decimal place.
b Hence solve the equation 3 sin  °  1 for values of  in the interval 0 to 720
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31.3 Area of a triangle CHAPTER 31

4 a Show that one solution of the equation 10 cos  °  3 is 107.5 correct to 1 decimal place.
b Hence find all values of  in the interval 360 to 360 for which 10 cos  °  3
5 Solve 4 tan  °  3 for values of  in the interval 180 to 360

31.3 Area of a triangle

Labelling sides and angles
The vertices of a triangle are labelled with capital letters.
The triangle shown is triangle ABC.
B

a c

C A
b
The sides opposite the angles are labelled so that a is the length of the side opposite angle A, b is the
length of the side opposite angle B and c is the length of the side opposite angle C.

Area of a triangle  12 base  height B

Area of triangle ABC  12 bh

c
a
In the right-angled triangle BCN h  a sin C h

So area of triangle ABC  12 b  a sin C that is

C A
N b
area of triangle ABC  ab sin C
1

2

The angle C is the angle between the sides of length a and b and is called the included angle.
The formula for the area of a triangle means that
Area of a triangle  12 product of two sides  sine of the included angle.
For triangle ABC there are other formulae for the area.
Area of triangle ABC  12 ab sin C  12 bc sin A  12 ac sin B.
These formulae give the area of a triangle whether the included angle is acute or obtuse.

Example 4
Find the area of each of the triangles correct to 3 significant figures.
a B b

7.3 cm
16.2 m

37°
C A 118°
5.8 cm
7.4 m

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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

Solution 4
a Area  12  7.3  5.8  sin 37° Substitute a  7.3 cm, b  5.8 cm, C  37° into area  12 ab sin C
Area  12.74 …
Area  12.7 cm2 Give the area correct to 3 significant figures and state the units.

b Area  12  7.4  16.2  sin 118° Substitute into

area of a triangle  12 product of two sides  sine of the included angle.
Area  52.92 …
Area  52.9 m2

Example 5 x°
2
The area of this triangle is 20 cm .
Find the size of the acute angle x°. 8.1 cm 6.4 cm
Give your angle correct to one decimal place.

Solution 5
1 Use
  8.1  6.4  sin x°  20
2 area of a triangle  12 product of two sides  sine of the included angle.
2  20
sin x°    0.7716 Find the value of sin x°.
8.1  6.4
x°  50.49 …°
x°  50.5° Give the angle correct to one decimal place.

Exercise 31D
Give lengths and areas correct to 3 significant figures and angles correct to one decimal place.
1 Work out the area of each of these triangles.
i ii iii
28°
9.3 cm 13.5 cm 10.6 cm
9.2 cm

43° 34.7°
6.9 cm 9.1 cm
iv v vi
8.6 cm 148.6° 13.4 cm
76.3°
4.6 cm 4.6 cm
9.6 cm

137°
4.7 cm

2 ABCD is a quadrilateral. D
Work out the area of the quadrilateral.
57°
C
9.4 cm 12.6 cm

8.6 cm
80°
A B

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31.3 Area of a triangle CHAPTER 31

3 The area of triangle ABC is 15 cm2 C

Angle A is acute.
Work out the size of angle A. 6.5 cm

A B
8.4 cm

4 The area of triangle ABC is 60.7 m2 C

Work out the length of BC.

35°
A B
12.6 m

5 a Triangle ABC is such that a  6 cm, b  9 cm and angle C  25°.

Work out the area of triangle ABC.
b Triangle PQR is such that p  6 cm, q  9 cm and angle R  155°.
Work out the area of triangle PQR.
c What do you notice about your answers? Why do you think this is true?
A B
6 The diagram shows a regular octagon with centre O.
a Work out the size of angle AOB.
OA  OB  6 cm.
b Work out the area of triangle AOB. O
c Hence work out the area of the octagon.

7 Work out the area of the parallelogram.

5.7 cm
63°
12.8 cm

8 a An equilateral triangle has sides of length 12 cm.

Calculate the area of the equilateral triangle.
b A regular hexagon has sides of length 12 cm.
Calculate the area of the regular hexagon.

9 The diagram shows a sector, AOB, of a circle, centre O. A

The radius of the circle is 8 cm and the size of angle AOB is 50°.
a Work out the area of triangle AOB.
b Work out the area of the sector AOB. 8 cm
c Hence work out the area of the segment shown shaded in
the diagram.
50° B
O 8 cm

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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

31.4 The sine rule

B

a c

C b A

The last section showed that

1 1 1
Area of triangle ABC  2 ab sin C  2 bc sin A  2 ca sin B

1

2 ab sin C  12 bc sin A and 1

2 bc sin A  12 ca sin B
cancelling 12 and b from both sides cancelling 12 and c from both sides
a sin C  c sin A and b sin A  a sin B
or or
a c b a
   and   
sin A sin C sin B sin A

Combining these results

a b c
    
sin A sin B sin C

This result is known as the sine rule and can be used in any triangle.

Using the sine rule to calculate a length

Example 6
Find the length of the side marked a in the triangle.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. 74°
a

37°
8.4 cm
Solution 6
a 8.4 a b
   Substitute A  37°, b  8.4, B  74° into   .
sin 37° sin 74° sin A sin B

8.4  sin 37°

a   Multiply both sides by sin 37°.
sin 74°
a  5.258 …
a  5.26 cm

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31.4 The sine rule CHAPTER 31

Example 7
Find the length of the side marked x in the triangle.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. 18°

x
Solution 7 9.7 cm
Missing angle  180  (18  124)
 38°
124°

The angle opposite 9.7 cm must be found before the sine rule can be used.
18°
Use the angle sum of a triangle.
x
9.7 cm

38° 124°

x 9.7
   Write down the sine rule with x opposite 124° and 9.7 opposite 38°.
sin 124° sin 38°
9.7  sin 124°
x   Multiply both sides by sin 124°.
sin 38°
x  13.06 …
x  13.1 cm

Using the sine rule to calculate an angle

When the sine rule is used to calculate an angle it is a good idea to turn each fraction upside down
(the reciprocal). This gives
sin A sin B sin C
    
a b c

Example 8
Find the size of the acute angle x in the triangle.
Give your answer correct to one decimal place. 74°
7.9 cm

x
8.4 cm
Solution 8
sin x sin 74°
   Write down the sine rule with x opposite 7.9 and 74° opposite 8.4
7.9 8.4
7.9  sin 74°
sin x   Multiply both sides by 7.9
8.4
sin x  0.904 … Find the value of sin x.

x  64.69 …°
x  64.7°

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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

Exercise 31E
Give lengths and areas correct to 3 significant figures and angles correct to 1 decimal place.
1 Find the lengths of the sides marked with letters in these triangles.
a b c
79° b 58°
a 4.2 cm c

46° 27° 51°

62°
11 cm 6.1 cm
d e f
64° 113° g
13.6 cm 17° e f
d
22°
76°
134°
14.9 cm
6.1 cm

2 Calculate the size of each of the acute angles marked with a letter.
a b c d
C 73°
6 cm 8 cm 17 cm 6.8 cm 18.4 cm
9.1 cm
A 32° 21° B
104° E D
12.7 cm
7.6 cm

3 The diagram shows quadrilateral ABCD D 8.6 cm

C
and its diagonal AC. 102°
a In triangle ABC, work out the length of AC. 5.7 cm
b In triangle ACD, work out the size of angle DAC. 46°
B
c Work out the size of angle BCD. 18°
A

4 In triangle ABC, BC  8.6 cm, angle BAC  52° and angle ABC  63°.
a Calculate the length of AC.
b Calculate the length of AB.
c Calculate the area of triangle ABC.
5 In triangle PQR all the angles are acute. PR  7.8 cm and PQ  8.4 cm.
Angle PQR  58°.
a Work out the size of angle PRQ.
b Work out the length of QR.
6 The diagram shows the position of a port (P),
N
a lighthouse (L) and a buoy (B).
The lighthouse is due east of the buoy. B L
The lighthouse is on a bearing of 035° from the port
and the buoy is on a bearing of 312° from the port.
a Work out the size of i angle PBL ii angle PLB.
The lighthouse is 8 km from the port.
b Work out the distance PB.
c Work out the distance BL.
d Work out the shortest distance from the port (P) to the line BL. P

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31.5 The cosine rule CHAPTER 31

31.5 The cosine rule

The diagram shows triangle ABC.
The line BN is perpendicular to AC and meets the line AC at N so that AN  x and NC  (b  x).
The length of BN is h.
In triangle BNC
B Pythagoras’ theorem
In triangle ANB gives
Pythagoras’ theorem a2  (b  x)2  h2
gives
a2  b2  2bx  x2  h2
c2  x2  h2 1 c h a
Using 1 substitute c2 for x2  h2
a2  b2  2bx  c2 2
x N (b  x)
A b C
In the right-angled triangle ANB, x  c cos A
Substituting this into 2 a2  b2  c2  2bc cos A
This result is known as the cosine rule and can be used in any triangle.
Similarly b2  a2  c2  2ac cos B
and c2  a2  b2  2ab cos C

Using the cosine rule to calculate a length

Example 9
Find the length of the side marked with a letter in each triangle.
Give your answers correct to 3 significant figures.
a B b
x
a 8 cm
7.3 cm
117°
24°
C 5.8 cm
12 cm A
Solution 9
a a2  122  82  2  12  8  cos 24° Substitute b  12, c  8, A  24° into a2  b2  c2  2bc cos A.
a  144  64  175.4007 …
2 Evaluate each term separately.

a2  32.599 27 …
a  32.599
 27 … Take the square root.
a  5.709 577 …
a  5.71 cm
Substitute the two given lengths and the included
b x2  7.32  5.82  2  7.3  5.8  cos 117° angle into the cosine rule.

x2  53.29  33.64  84.68  (0.4539 …) cos 117°  0

x2  86.93  38.44 …
x2  125.37 …
x  125.37
 … Take the square root.
x  11.19 …
x  11.2 cm

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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

Using the cosine rule to calculate an angle

To find an angle using the cosine rule, when the lengths of all three sides of a triangle are known,
rearrange a2  b2  c2  2bc cos A.

2bc cos A  b2  c2  a2

b2  c2  a2
cos A  
2bc

a2  c2  b2
Similarly cos B  
2ac

a2  b2  c2
and cos C  
2ab

Example 10
Find the size of a angle BAC b angle X.
Give your answers correct to one decimal place.
a B b

12.7 cm
16 cm 13 cm 8.6 cm
X
6.9 cm
A 11 cm C

Solution 10
112  162  132 b2  c2  a2
a cos A   Substitute b  11, c  16, a  13 into cos A  .
2  11  16 2bc
208
cos A  
352
cos A  0.590 909 …
A  53.77 …°
A  53.8°
8.62  6.92  12.72 Substitute the three lengths into the cosine rule noting that 12.7 cm is
b cos X  
2  8.6  6.9 opposite the angle to be found.
39.72
cos X  
118.68
cos X  0.334 68 … The value of cos X is negative so X is an obtuse angle.
X  109.55 …°
X  109.6°

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31.5 The cosine rule CHAPTER 31

Exercise 31F
Where necessary give lengths and areas correct to 3 significant figures and angles correct to
1 decimal place.
1 Calculate the length of the sides marked with letters in these triangles.
a b c
11.3 cm
8 cm a b 18°
16.2 cm
15.5 cm
62° 75°
9 cm 9.2 cm
c
d e f
8.4 cm
d e
9.6 cm 10.2 cm
147°
134°
f
6.3 cm 8.4 cm
52°
9.6 cm

2 Calculate the size of each of the angles marked with a letter in these triangles.
a b
7 cm 9 cm 15.3 cm 9.4 cm

A B
11 cm 13.6 cm
c d 8.6 cm
C D
8.7 cm 8.7 cm 7.2 cm
14.4 cm

6.8 cm

3 The diagram shows the quadrilateral ABCD. 26.4 cm C

D
a Work out the length of DB. 56°

b Work out the size of angle DAB. 8.4 cm 9.8 cm

c Work out the area of quadrilateral ABCD.
A
16.3 cm B
4 Work out the perimeter of triangle PQR.
R

8.6 cm
Q
27°
10.9 cm
P

5 In triangle ABC, AB  10.1 cm, AC  9.4 cm and BC  8.7 cm.

Calculate the size of angle BAC.
6 In triangle XYZ, XY  20.3 cm, XZ  14.5 cm and angle YXZ  38°.
Calculate the length of YZ.
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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

7 AB is a chord of a circle with centre O.

The radius of the circle is 7 cm and the length of the chord is 11 cm.
Calculate the size of angle AOB.
O 7 cm
B
11 cm
A

8 The region ABC is marked on a school field. N B

The point B is 70 m from A on a bearing of 064°.
The point C is 90 m from A on a bearing of 132°. 70 m
a Work out the size of angle BAC.
b Work out the length of BC. A

90 m
C

9 Chris ran 4 km on a bearing of 036° from P to Q. He then ran in a straight line from Q to R
where R is 7 km due East of P. Chris then ran in a straight line from R to P.
Calculate the total distance run by Chris.

10 The diagram shows a parallelogram.

Work out the length of each diagonal of the parallelogram. 6 cm

65°
8 cm

31.6 Solving problems using the sine rule, the cosine rule and
1
 ab sin C
2

Example 11
The area of triangle ABC is 12 cm2 A
AB  3.8 cm and angle ABC  70°.
a Find the length of i BC ii AC.
Give your answers correct to 3 significant figures. 3.8 cm

b Find the size of angle BAC.

Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place. 70°
B C
Solution 11
a i 12  3.8  BC sin 70°  12 Substitute c  3.8, B  70° into area  12 ac sin B.

2  12
BC  
3.8 sin 70°
BC  6.721 …
BC  6.72 cm
ii b2  6.721 …2  3.82  2  6.721…  3.8 cos 70° Substitute a  6.721 …, c  3.8 and B  70°
into b2  a2  c2  2ac cos B.
b2  59.613 …  17.470 …
b2  42.142 …
b  6.491 …
AC  6.49 cm
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1
31.6 Solving problems using the sine rule, the cosine rule and 2ab sin C CHAPTER 31

sin A sin 70°

b     sin A sin B
Substitute a  6.721 …, b  6.491 … and B  70° into   .
6.721 … 6.491 … a b
6.721 …  sin 70°
sin A  
6.491 …
sin A  0.9728 …
A  76.62 …°
Angle BAC  76.6°

Exercise 31G
Where necessary give lengths and areas correct to 3 significant figures and angles correct to
1 decimal place, unless the question states otherwise.
1 A triangle has sides of lengths 9 cm, 10 cm and 11 cm.
a Calculate the size of each angle of the triangle.
b Calculate the area of the triangle.
2 In the diagram ABC is a straight line. D
a Calculate the length of BD.
b Calculate the size of angle DAB. 12.9 cm 12 cm
c Calculate the length of AC.
65° 47°
A 5.4cm B C
2
3 The area of triangle ABC is 15 cm .
AB  4.6 cm and angle BAC  63˚.
a Work out the length of AC.
b Work out the length of BC.
c Work out the size of angle ABC.
4 ABCD is a kite with diagonal DB. D
a Calculate the length of DB. 8 cm x cm
b Calculate the size of angle BDC.
A 50° 30° C
c Calculate the value of x.
8 cm x cm
d Calculate the length of AC.
B

5 Kultar walked 9 km due South from point A to point B.

He then changed direction and walked 5 km to point C.
Kultar was then 6 km from his starting point A.
a Work out the bearing of point C from point B. Give your answer correct to the nearest degree.
b Work out the bearing of point C from point A. Give your answer correct to the nearest degree.
6 The diagram shows a pyramid. The base of the pyramid, ABCD, is O
a rectangle in which AB  15 cm and AD  8 cm.
The vertex of the pyramid is O where OA  OB  OC  OD  20 cm.
Work out the size of angle DOB correct to the nearest degree.
20 cm

C
D
8 cm B
15 cm
A
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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

7 The diagram shows a vertical pole, PQ, standing on a hill. P

The hill is at an angle of 8° to the horizontal.
The point R is 20 m downhill from Q and the line PR is at 12° to the hill.
a Calculate the size of angle RPQ.
b Calculate the length, PQ, of the pole. 12° Q
R 20 m
8°

8 A, B and C are points on horizontal ground so that P Q

AB  30 m, BC  24 m and angle CAB  50°.
AP and BQ are vertical posts, where AP  BQ  10 m. 10 m 10 m
a Work out the size of angle ACB. 30 m
A 50° B
b Work out the length of AC.
c Work out the size of angle PCQ. 24 m
d Work out the size of the angle between
QC and the ground. C

Chapter summary
You should now be able to:
 use Pythagoras’ theorem to solve problems in 3 dimensions
 use trigonometry to solve problems in 3 dimensions
 work out the size of the angle between a line and a plane
 draw sketches of the graphs of y  sin x °, y  cos x °, y  tan x ° and use these graphs to
solve simple trigonometric equations
 use the formula area  12 ab sin C to calculate the area of any triangle
a b c
 use the sine rule      and the cosine rule a2  b2  c2  2bc cos A in
sin A sin B sin C
triangles and in solving problems.

Chapter 31 review questions

X Diagram NOT
1 In the diagram, XY represents a vertical tower accurately drawn
on level ground.
A and B are points due West of Y.
The distance AB is 30 metres.
The angle of elevation of X from A is 30º.
The angle of elevation of X from B is 50º.
Calculate the height, in metres, of the tower XY. 30° 50°
Give your answer correct to 2 decimal places. A 30 m B Y
(1384 June 1996)

2 The diagram shows triangle ABC. C Diagram NOT

accurately drawn
AC  7.2 cm BC  8.35 cm
Angle ACB  74°. 74°
7.2 cm 8.35 cm
a Calculate the area of triangle ABC.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures.
b Calculate the length of AB. A B
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. (1385 June 2002)

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Chapter 31 review questions CHAPTER 31

3 In triangle ABC A Diagram NOT

accurately drawn
AC  8 cm X
CB  15 cm
Angle ACB  70°. 8 cm
a Calculate the area of triangle ABC.
Give your answer correct to
70°
3 significant figures.
C 15 cm B
X is the point on AB such that angle CXB  90°.
b Calculate the length of CX.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. (1387 June 2003)

4 The diagram shows a cuboid. E Diagram NOT

accurately drawn
A, B, C, D and E are five vertices of the cuboid.
AB  5 cm 3 cm
BC  8 cm
CE  3 cm. D
C
Calculate the size of the angle the
8 cm
diagonal AE makes with the plane
ABCD. A 5 cm B
Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place.

5 In triangle ABC A Diagram NOT

accurately drawn
AC  8 cm BC  15 cm
Angle ACB  70°.
a Calculate the length of AB. 8 cm
Give your answer correct to
3 significant figures. 70°
b Calculate the size of angle BAC. B 15 cm C
Give your answer correct to 1 decimal
place. (1387 June 2003)

6 This is a sketch of the graph of y  cos x° y

for values of x between 0 and 360. A
Write down the coordinates of the point
ii A
ii B. O 360 x

7 Angle ACB  150° C Diagram NOT

accurately drawn
BC  60 m. 150°
The area of triangle ABC is 450 m2
Calculate the perimeter of triangle ABC. 60 m
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures.

A B
(1385 November 2000)

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CHAPTER 31 Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry (2)

8 The diagram shows a quadrilateral ABCD. Diagram NOT

A accurately drawn
AB  4.1 cm 5.4 cm
4.1 cm
BC  7.6 cm
AD  5.4 cm B 117° 62° D
Angle ABC  117°
Angle ADC  62°.
a Calculate the length of AC.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. 7.6 cm
b Calculate the area of triangle ABC.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures.
c Calculate the area of the quadrilateral ABCD. C
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. (1385 June 2000)

9 This is a graph of the curve y  sin x° for 0

x
180
y
1

0.5

O 45 90 135 180 x

0.5

1

a Using the graph or otherwise, find estimates of the solutions in the interval 0
x
360 of
the equation
i sin x°  0.2 ii sin x°  0.6.
cos x°  sin (x  90)° for all values of x.
b Write down two solutions of the equation cos x°  0.2 (1385 November 2002)

10 In the diagram, ABCD, ABFE and EFCD are rectangles. B

The plane EFCD is horizontal and the plane ABFE is vertical. A
EA  10 cm 10 cm
DC  20 cm F
ED  20 cm. E
20 cm
Calculate the size of the angle that the line AC makes with C
D 20 cm
the plane EFCD.

11 In triangle ABC A Diagram NOT

accurately drawn
AB  10 cm
AC  14 cm 14 cm
BC  16 cm. 10 cm

a Calculate the size of the smallest angle in the triangle.

Give your answer correct to the nearest 0.1°. C
B 16 cm
b Calculate the area of triangle ABC.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures.

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