| Word Problems: Law of Cosines |
In order to solve problems which require the application of the Law of Cosines, it is necessary to A typical problem that requires the use of the Law of Cosines in order to solve it involves a triangle in which there is no right angle. We are given some information about a triangle, but we have to find measurements of other sides and/or angles. The Law of Cosines for a triangle ABC is stated below, assuming that the side opposite angle A is a, the side opposite angle B is b, and the side opposite angle C is c:
This can also be written as
First, we make a diagram. A diagram of this triangle is shown below.
In the diagram, known angles and lengths of sides are labeled:
The variable a is chosen to represent the unknown measurement of the side opposite angle A. This is the object of the question.
To relate the known measurements and the variable, an equation is written. In this case the equation involves the Law of Cosines, keeping side a on the opposite side of the equation from angle A.
We have
which is the same as
We finish solving for a by taking the square root of 12.197 and we get
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This type of problem requires a diagram of a carefully labeled triangle. The measurements of sides and any given angle should be labeled based on the information given. It is sometimes the case that only one, or maybe even none, of the angles is known. It is the goal of the problem to find missing measurements in the triangle. First, you should assign a variable to represent the missing measurement. We usually use a lower case English letter to represent the measure of a side of the triangle and an upper case letter to represent an angle. Use of the Law of Cosines involves a simple equation, but the solution may involve the use of the quadratic formula. It is important to set a calculator for degrees if that is the manner in which the angles are measured. If one angle and two sides are known, it is best to use the Law of Cosines to find the measurements of missing parts of the triangle. It is often the case that the Law of Sines can be used if the measures of two angles are known.
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M Ransom
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