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

Is This Magic?

Not really, look at this general triangle and imagine it is two right-angled
triangles sharing the side h:

The sine of an angle is the opposite divided by the hypotenuse, so:

sin(A) = h/b b sin(A) = h

sin(B) = h/a a sin(B) = h

a sin(B) and b sin(A) both equal h, so we get:

a sin(B) = b sin(A)

Which can be rearranged to:

asin A = bsin B

We can follow similar steps to include c/sin(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:
(only for Right-Angled Triangles)a2 + b2 = c2
 Law of Cosines:
(for all triangles)a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C) = c2

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
of the c2 = a2 + b2 − 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

Also, we can rewrite the c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos(C) formula

into a = and b = form.
2 2

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 ).

Unit Circle

The "Unit Circle" is a circle with a radius of 1.

Being so simple, it is a great way to learn and talk about lengths and angles.
The center is put on a graph where the x axis and y axis cross, so we get this
neat arrangement here.

Sine, Cosine and Tangent

Because the radius is 1, we can directly measure sine, cosine and tangent .

What happens when the angle, θ, is 0°?

cos 0° = 1, sin 0° = 0 and tan 0° = 0

What happens when θ is 90°?

cos 90° = 0, sin 90° = 1 and tan 90° is undefined

Try It Yourself!
Have a try! Move the mouse around to see how different angles
(in radians or degrees ) affect sine, cosine and tangent

The "sides" can be positive or negative according to the rules of Cartesian

coordinates . This makes the sine, cosine and tangent change between positive
and negative values also.

Also try the Interactive Unit Circle .

Pythagoras
Pythagoras' Theorem says that for a right angled triangle, the square of the
long side equals the sum of the squares of the other two sides:

x 2 + y2 = 1 2

But 12 is just 1, so:

x2 + y2 = 1
(the equation of the unit circle)

Also, since x=cos and y=sin, we get:

(cos(θ))2 + (sin(θ))2 = 1

a useful "identity"

Important Angles: 30°, 45° and 60°

You should try to remember sin, cos and tan for the angles 30°, 45° and 60°.

Yes, yes, it is a pain to have to remember things, but it will make life easier
when you know them, not just in exams, but other times when you need to do
quick estimates, etc.

These are the values you should remember!

Angle Sin Cos Tan=Sin/Cos

30° 1√3 = √33

 45° 1

60° √3

How To Remember?

To help you remember, sin goes "1,2,3" :

sin(30°) = √12 = 12 (because √1 = 1)
sin(45°) = √22
sin(60°) = √32

And cos goes "3,2,1"

cos(30°) = √32
cos(45°) = √22
cos(60°) = √12 = 12

Just 3 Numbers
In fact, knowing 3 numbers is enough: 12 , √22 and √32
Because they work for both cos and sin:
What about tan?
Well, tan = sin/cos, so we can calculate it like this:

tan(30°) =sin(30°)cos(30°) = 1/2√3/2 = 1√3 = √33 *

tan(45°) =sin(45°)cos(45°) = √2/2√2/2 = 1

tan(60°) =sin(60°)cos(60°) = √3/21/2 = √3

* Note: writing 1√3 may cost you marks (see Rational Denominators ), so
instead use √33

Quick Sketch
Another way to help you remember 30° and 60° is to make a quick sketch:

Draw a triangle with side lengths of 2

Cut in half. Pythagoras says the new side is √3

12 + (√3)2 = 22

1+3=4

Then use sohcahtoa for sin, cos or tan

Example: sin(30°)

Sine: sohcahtoa
sine is opposite divided by hypotenuse

sin(30°) = oppositehypotenuse = 12

The Whole Circle

For the whole circle we need values in every quadrant , with the correct plus or
minus sign as per Cartesian Coordinates :

Note that cos is first and sin is second, so it goes (cos, sin):
 Save as PDF

Example: What is cos(330°) ?

Make a sketch like this, and we can see it is the "long" value: √32

And this is the same Unit Circle in radians.

Example: What is sin(7π/6) ?

Think "7π/6 = π + π/6", then make a sketch.

We can then see it is negative and is the "short" value: −½
Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5Question 6 Qu
estion 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10
Footnote: where do the values come from?

We can use the equation x2 + y2 = 1 to find the lengths of x and y (which are equal
to cosand sin when the radius is 1):

45 Degrees

For 45 degrees, x and y are equal, so y=x:

x 2 + x2 = 1

2x2 = 1

x2 = ½

x = y = √(½)
60 Degrees

Take an equilateral triangle (all sides are equal and all angles are 60°) and split it down the
middle.

The "x" side is now ½,

And the "y" side is:

(½)2 + y2 = 1

¼ + y2 = 1

y2 = 1-¼ = ¾

y = √(¾)

30 Degrees

30° is just 60° with x and y swapped, so x = √(¾) and y = ½

And:

√(½) is also this:

 And √(¾) is also this:

And here is the result (same as before):

Angle Sin Cos Tan=Sin/Cos

30° 1√3 = √33

45° 1

60° √3

Right Triangle
Sine, Cosine and Tangent are the main functions used in Trigonometry and are
based on a Right-Angled Triangle .

Before getting stuck into the functions, it helps to give a name to each side of a
right triangle:

 "Opposite" is opposite to the angle θ

 "Adjacent" is adjacent (next to) to the angle θ
 "Hypotenuse" is the long one

Adjacent is always next to the angle

And Opposite is opposite the angle

Sine, Cosine and Tangent

Sine, Cosine and Tangent (often shortened to sin, cos and tan) are each
a ratio of sides of a right angled triangle:

For a given angle θ each ratio stays the same

no matter how big or small the triangle is

To calculate them:

Divide the length of one side by another side

Example: What is the sine of 35°?

Using this triangle (lengths are only to one decimal place):

sin(35°) = OppositeHypotenuse

= 2.84.9

= 0.57...
cos(35°) = AdjacentHypotenuse

= 4.04.9

= 0.82...

tan(35°) = OppositeAdjacent

= 2.84.0

= 0.70...

Good calculators have sin, cos and tan on them, to make it easy for you. Just
put in the angle and press the button.

But you still need to remember what they mean!

In picture form:

Practice Here:

Sohcahtoa
How to remember? Think "Sohcahtoa"!
It works like this:
Soh... Sine = Opposite / Hypotenuse

...cah... Cosine = Adjacent / Hypotenuse

 ...toa Tangent = Opposite / Adjacent

You can read more about sohcahtoa ... please remember it, it may help in an
exam !

Try It!
Have a try! Move the mouse around to see how different angles
(in radians or degrees ) affect sine, cosine and tangent.

In this animation the hypotenuse is 1, making the Unit Circle .

Notice that the adjacent side and opposite side can be positive or negative,
which makes the sine, cosine and tangent change between positive and
negative values also.

"Why didn't sin and

tan go to the party?"
"... just cos!"

Examples
Example: what are the sine, cosine and tangent of 30° ?

The classic 30° triangle has a hypotenuse of length 2, an opposite side of length
1 and an adjacent side of √3:
Now we know the lengths, we can calculate the functions:

Sine sin(30°) = 1 / 2 = 0.5

Cosine cos(30°) = 1.732 / 2 = 0.866...

Tangent tan(30°) = 1 / 1.732 = 0.577...

(get your calculator out and check them!)

Example: what are the sine, cosine and tangent of 45° ?

The classic 45° triangle has two sides of 1 and a hypotenuse of √2:

Sine sin(45°) = 1 / 1.414 = 0.707...

Cosine cos(45°) = 1 / 1.414 = 0.707...

 Tangent tan(45°) = 1 / 1 = 1

Why?
Why are these functions important?

 Because they let us work out angles when we know sides

 And they let us work out sides when we know angles

Example: Use the sine function to find "d"

We know:

 The cable makes a 39° angle with the seabed

 The cable has a 30 meter length.

And we want to know "d" (the distance down).

Start with:sin 39° = opposite/hypotenuse

sin 39° = d/30

Swap Sides:d/30 = sin 39°

Use a calculator to find sin 39°:d/30 = 0.6293...

Multiply both sides by 30:d = 0.6293… x 30

d = 18.88 to 2 decimal places.

 The depth "d" is 18.88 m

Exercise
Try this paper-based exercise where you can calculate the sine function for all
angles from 0° to 360°, and then graph the result. It will help you to
understand these relatively simple functions.

You can also see Graphs of Sine, Cosine and Tangent .

Less Common Functions

To complete the picture, there are 3 other functions where we divide one side
by another, but they are not so commonly used.

They are equal to 1 divided by cos, 1 divided by sin, and 1 divided by tan:

Secant Function: sec(θ) = HypotenuseAdjacent (=1/cos)

Cosecant Function: csc(θ) = HypotenuseOpposite (=1/sin)

Cotangent Function: cot(θ) = AdjacentOpposite (=1/tan)

Finding an Angle in a Right

Angled Triangle

Angle from Any Two Sides

We can find an unknown angle in a right-angled triangle , as long as we know
the lengths of two of its sides.
 Example

The ladder leans against a wall as shown.

What is the angle between the ladder and the wall?

The answer is to use Sine, Cosine or Tangent !

But which one to use? We have a special phrase " SOHCAHTOA " to help us, and
we use it like this:

Step 1: find the names of the two sides we know

 Adjacent is adjacent to the angle,

 Opposite is opposite the angle,
 and the longest side is the Hypotenuse.
Example: in our ladder example we know the length of:

 the side Opposite the angle "x", which is 2.5

 the longest side, called the Hypotenuse, which is 5

Step 2: now use the first letters of those two sides (Opposite
and Hypotenuse) and the phrase " SOHCAHTOA " to find which one of Sine,
Cosine or Tangent to use:

SOH... Sine: sin(θ) = Opposite / Hypotenuse

 ...CAH... Cosine: cos(θ) = Adjacent / Hypotenuse

...TOA Tangent: tan(θ) = Opposite / Adjacent

In our example that is Opposite and Hypotenuse, and that gives us

“SOHcahtoa”, which tells us we need to use Sine.

Step 3: Put our values into the Sine equation:

Sin (x) = Opposite / Hypotenuse = 2.5 / 5 = 0.5

Step 4: Now solve that equation!

sin(x) = 0.5

Next (trust me for the moment) we can re-arrange that into this:

x = sin-1(0.5)

And then get our calculator, key in 0.5 and use the sin-1 button to get the
answer:

x = 30°

And we have our answer!

But what is the meaning of sin-1 … ?

Well, the Sine function "sin" takes an angle and gives us

the ratio "opposite/hypotenuse",

But sin-1 (called "inverse sine") goes the other way ...
... it takes the ratio "opposite/hypotenuse" and gives us an angle.

Example:

 Sine Function: sin(30°) = 0.5

 Inverse Sine Function: sin-1(0.5) = 30°
 On the calculator press one of the following (depending
on your brand of calculator): either '2ndF sin' or 'shift sin'.

On your calculator, try using sin and sin-1 to see what results you get!

Also try cos and cos-1. And tan and tan-1.

Go on, have a try now.

Step By Step
These are the four steps we need to follow:

 Step 1 Find which two sides we know – out of Opposite, Adjacent and
Hypotenuse.
 Step 2 Use SOHCAHTOA to decide which one of Sine, Cosine or Tangent to use in
this question.
 Step 3 For Sine calculate Opposite/Hypotenuse, for Cosine calculate
Adjacent/Hypotenuse orfor Tangent calculate Opposite/Adjacent.
 Step 4 Find the angle from your calculator, using one of sin-1, cos-1 or tan-1

Examples
Let’s look at a couple more examples:
 Example

Find the angle of elevation of the plane from point A on the ground.

 Step 1 The two sides we know are Opposite (300) and Adjacent (400).
 Step 2 SOHCAHTOA tells us we must use Tangent.
 Step 3 Calculate Opposite/Adjacent = 300/400 = 0.75
 Step 4 Find the angle from your calculator using tan-1

Tan x° = opposite/adjacent = 300/400 = 0.75

tan-1 of 0.75 = 36.9° (correct to 1 decimal place)

Unless you’re told otherwise, angles are usually rounded to one place of
decimals.

Example

Find the size of angle a°

 Step 1 The two sides we know are Adjacent (6,750) and Hypotenuse (8,100).
 Step 2 SOHCAHTOA tells us we must use Cosine.
 Step 3 Calculate Adjacent / Hypotenuse = 6,750/8,100 = 0.8333
 Step 4 Find the angle from your calculator using cos-1 of 0.8333:

cos a° = 6,750/8,100 = 0.8333

cos-1 of 0.8333 = 33.6° (to 1 decimal place)