Q1 W7

SOLUTION OF OBLIQUE TRIANGLES

(SINE LAW AND COSINE LAW)

Oblique Triangle: An oblique triangle may either have two acute angles and an obtuse angle or
it may have three acute angles. It can be solved if at least one side and any other two parts are
given. There are four possible cases wherein a given problem can be solved using Trigonometry.
These are the following:
Case 1: Two angles and one side (SAA or ASA)
Case 2: Two sides and an angle opposite one of the sides (SSA)
Case 3: Two sides and an included angle (SAS)
Case 4: Three sides (SSS)

The Law of Sines

In any triangle ABC, with sides a, b, and c,

a b a c b c
= = and =
SinA SinB SinA SinC SinB SinC
a b c
This can be written in compact form as: = =
SinA SinB SinC

SinA SinB SinC

Sometimes an alternative form of the law of sines: = =
a b c

The Law of Sines states that the sides of a triangle are proportional to the sines of their opposite
angles.
The Law of Sines is used in triangles in which:
1) two sides and the angle opposite to one of them are given , or
2) two angles and the side opposite to one of them is given.

Example 1: In  ABC, A = 56° 14’, B = 97°43’, b = 12.6 ft. Solve the triangle.
Solution: C = 180° - (56° 14’ + 97°43’) = 26° 3’
12.6Sin5614' 12.6Sin263'
a= = 10.57 ft. c= = 5.58 ft.
Sin9743" Sin9743'

The Ambiguous Case of the Law of Sines

In general, when two sides and a non-included angle are given, the following cases are
possible:
Case 1: When the given angle is obtuse:
a) No triangle can be drawn if the side opposite the given angle is less than other given
side.
b) Only one triangle can be drawn if the side opposite the given angle is greater than
the other given side.
Case 2: When the given angle is acute:
a) Two triangles can be drawn if the side opposite the given angle is less than the other
given side.
b) Only one triangle can be drawn if the side opposite the given acute angle is greater
than the other given side.
Example 2: Solve triangle ABC if A = 48° 34’, a = 5.4 m, b = 6.9 m

Solution: Since a < b, there are two possible triangles that can be drawn.

bSinA 6.9Sin4834'
Using the Law of Sines, SinB = = = 73°19’
a 5.4
B = 73°19’ or (180° - 73°19’) = 106°41’
When B = 73°19’, we have:
aSinC 5.4Sin587'
C = 180° - (48°34’ + 73°19’) = 58°7’ c= = = 6.11 m
SinA Sin4834'
When B = 106°41’, we have:
aSinC 5.4Sin2445'
C = 180°-(48°34’ + 106°41’) = 24°45’ c = = = 3.01 m
SinA Sin4834'

Area of a Triangle
In any triangle ABC, the area K is given by any of the following formulas:
1 1 1
K = bcSinA K= abSinC K = acSinB
2 2 2
That is, the area is given by half the product of the lengths of two sides and the sine of the
angle included between them.

The Law of Cosines

If we are given two sides and the included angle or three sides of a triangle, a unique
triangle is formed. The Law of Sines is not sufficient to solve a triangle when two sides and the
included angle are given. Both cases require the use of the law of cosines. It will be helpful to
remember the Triangle Inequality Theorem when applying the Law of Cosines. In any triangle,
the sum of the lengths of any two sides is greater than the length of the remaining side.
For any triangle ABC with the sides a, b, c,
a 2 = b 2 + c 2 − 2bcCosA b 2 = a 2 + c 2 − 2acCosB c 2 = a 2 + b 2 − 2abCosC
The Law of Cosines states that the square of a side of a triangle is equal to the sum of the
squares of the other two sides, minus twice the product of those two sides and the cosine of the
angle included between them.

b2 + c2 − a2 a 2 + c2 − b2 a2 + b2 − c
CosA = CosB = CosC =
2bc 2ac 2ab
Example 1: Solve for b, A and C in  ABC if a = 4, c = 9 and B = 117°

 11.4 2 + 4 2 − 9 2 
b 2 = a 2 + c 2 − 2acCosB A = Cos −1   = 45°
 2(11.4)( 4) 
b = 4 2 + 9 2 − 2(4)(9)Cos117  = 11.4 C = 180°-(117°+45°) = 18°
A. Answer the following:
1. Determine the number of solutions in each case:
a)  A = 71°, a = 43, b = 52 g)  B = 98°, b = 16.3, c = 11.9
b)  A = 33°, b = 13, a = 17 h)  C = 119°, b = 83.5, c = 64.8
c)  B = 92°, b = 64, c = 85 i)  C = 35°, a = 54.3, c = 54.3
d)  A = 108 , a = 37.5, b = 32.3 j)  C = 101°, c = 26, b = 31
e)  B = 62°, b = 85.8, c = 61.7 k)  A = 112°, a = 84.6, b = 93.7
f)  C = 47°, b = 53.3, c = 64.1 l)  B = 14°, a = 11.7, b = 5.6

2. Solve each triangle. If no triangle exists, tell why. If two triangles exist, give both solutions. If
one triangle exists, solve then find its area.
a) Triangle PQR with Q = 74°, q = 38.2, r = 39.6
b) Triangle RST with S = 37°, s = 17.8, t = 26.9
c) Triangle ABC with A = 48°, a = 46.2, c = 62.3
d) Triangle KLM with L = 44.2°, l = 19.3, m = 23.6
e) Triangle ABC with C = 57.6°, c = 27.7, a = 41.5
3. Use Cosine Law to solve the following triangles:
a) C = 28.3°, b = 5.71 in, a = 4.21 in.
b) BC = 76.3 ft, AC = 109 ft, AB = 98.8 ft
c) C = 72°40’, a = 327 ft, b = 251 ft
d) a = 22 in, b = 45 in, c = 31 in

B. Solve the following problems:

1. Two surveyors located at points A and B sight the marker at M. Their lines of sight to
the marker make angles of 82° and 44°, respectively. The distance from A to M is 100
yd. Determine the distance between the surveyors.

2. In a parallelogram, two adjacent sides meet at an angle of 108°. The sides are 17 and
23 ft long. Determine the lengths of both diagonals.

3. The minute hand of a clock is 2.2 cm long and the hour hand is 1.7 cm long. How far
apart are the tips of the hands at 1:00 PM?

4. The vertex angle of an isosceles triangle is 54° and each leg is 48 cm long. Find the
length of the base.

5. A vacant lot shaped like a triangle is between two streets that intersect at an angle
that measures 75°. The longest side, which is 140 ft long is opposite that angle.
Determine the length of the shortest side if the angle opposite that side measures 28°.

6. Two air paths cross each other at an angle of 49°. At a certain instant, plane A is 32
miles from the crossing, while B is 76 miles from the crossing. What is the distance
between them at this instant?

7. To measure the distance through a mountain for a proposed tunnel, a point C is

chosen that can be reached from each end of the tunnel. If AC = 3800 m, BC = 2900
m, and an angle C = 110°, find the length of the tunnel.
8. Given a = 10, B = 158°, determine the values of b for which A has:

a) exactly one value b) two values c) no value

9. If angle C of a triangle ABC measures 90°, what does the law of cosines
c 2 = a 2 + b 2 − 2abCosC become?

10. Two straight-line flight patterns intersect each other at an angle of 50.6°. At a
particular time, an airplane on one flight pattern is 53.4 mi from the intersection and
a plane on the other pattern is 63.9 mi from the intersection. What is the distance
between the planes at this time? (Hint: There are two solutions)

C. More on Applications of Solving Oblique Triangles

1. A hill slopes at an angle of 12.47° with the horizontal. From the base of the hill, the
angle of elevation of a 459 ft tower at the top of the hill is 35.98°. How much rope
would be required to reach from the top of the tower to the bottom of the hill?

2. A, B are two observers: A is 2400 m due west of B. A locates a lighthouse on a bearing

of 52.4°, and B locates it on a bearing of 18.6°. How far is A from the lighthouse?

3. A ship left pier at 9 A.M. in the direction N 54° E at an average speed of 30 kph. At the
same time, a coast guard boat left port 50 km east of the pier to intercept the ship.

a) If the coast guard boat takes a direction of N 38° W, what must be the average
speed of the boat if it is to intercept the ship and what will be the time of
interception?

b) If on the other hand, the boat goes at 40 kph to intercept the ship, what direction
must it take and at what time will it intercept the ship?

4. The bearing of a lighthouse from a ship, 9 km from it is N 17° E. The ship sails due west
and stops. If the bearing now of the lighthouse from the ship is N 70° E, how far has the
ship sailed?

5. Two ships leave a port at the same time. The heading of the first is 73°, and the
heading of the second is 115°. If the ships travel at the rate of 12 knots (1 knot = 1
nautical mile per hour) and 15 knots, respectively, determine how far apart are they
after 2 hrs?

6. A ramp is inclined at an angle of 41.3° with the ground. One end of a board, 20.6 ft
in length, is located on the ground at a point P, 12.2 ft from the base Q of the ramp,
and the other end rests on the ramp at point R. Find the distance from point Q up
the ramp to point R.