Lesson 2

Ambiguous Case of the Sine Law

For triangles in which two sides and an angle opposite one of them are given, we may also
apply the Sine Law. However, the possibilities for this case such that the given parts may yield one
triangle, two triangles or none at all.

A. For ∠𝑩 < 𝟗𝟎°

A
A
b
b
c
c C
C

a B a
B

Figure 2
Figure 1
A

c
b
b
a
B C
B C
C a

Figure 4
Figure 3
A

B a C

Figure 5
 A. For 𝟗𝟎° < ∠𝑩 > 𝟏𝟖𝟎°

A A
b
C
c

B B a C
a

Figure 6 Figure 7

EXERCISES:
1. Consider the triangle with 𝑐 = 30 𝑐𝑚, 𝑏 = 17 𝑐𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∠𝐵 = 44°. Solve for ∠𝐴, ∠𝐶 and side c.

SOLUTION:

a. Test for the height of the triangle b. Solve for C:

If ℎ > 17, then side a and side b can never meet at a common point.

And since sin 𝐶 > 1, angle C does not exist.

Therefore, there is no triangle formed and there’s no solution.
2. Consider the triangle with 𝑐 = 8 𝑐𝑚, 𝑏 = 6 𝑐𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∠𝐵 = 35°. Solve for ∠𝐴, ∠𝐶 and side c.

a) Test for the height of the triangle

b) Solve for angle C c) Solve for angle A d) Solve for a

Note that there is still another angle which measure less than 180° whose sine is equal to 0.764,
Thus, sin 49°53′11" = 𝑠𝑖𝑛(180 − 49°53′11")
sin 49°53′11" = sin 130°6′49"

This means that angle C can have two values, angle A can have two values also and so with side a.
Solve for the other value of angle C,

e) Solve angle C’ f) Solve for angle A’ g) Solve for side a’

Since there are two values for angle C and angle A and side a.
Therefore, there are two triangles formed and two solutions of the triangle.

3. Consider the triangle with 𝑎 = 525 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 , 𝑐 = 421 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∠𝐴 = 130°50′ . Solve for ∠𝐵, ∠𝐶 and side b.

a) Solve for angle C

b) Solve for angle B: c) Solve for side b

ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS
1. The sides of a parallelogram are 15 cm and 17 cm. If the longer side makes an angle of 34° with the longer
diagonal, find the length of its longer diagonal.

2. A lighthouse and a cost guard station are 10 km apart. From the light house, a ship is sighted 𝑁55°25′15"𝐸,
and from the coast guard station, the same ship is sighted at 𝑁70°30′20"𝐸. Determine the distance of the
ship from the lighthouse. What is the ship’s distance from the lighthouse? What is the ship’s distance from
the coast guard station?

3. A pole tilts toward the sun has an angle of 8°10′20" from the vertical, and it casts a 22-foot shadow. The
angle of elevation from the tip of the shadow to the top of the pole is 43°25′. How long is the pole?

4. A ladder 35.4 feet long is leaning against an embarkment inclined 62°30′ to the horizontal. If the foot of the
ladder is 10.2 feet from the embankment, what is the distance from the top of the ladder down the
embankment to the ground?