Specialist Maths – Sine Rule and Cosine Rule

Ex 1B page 18, Q1-10

The sine rule and cosine rule enable us to work out unknown sides and angles in non-right-angled triangles. If
we are given three pieces of information about a triangle, at least one of which is a side length, it is possible to
work out all the unknown sides and angles (although sometimes there is more than one possibility, as we will
see shortly).

Convention for labelling a triangle

Unless we are told otherwise, the usual convention for labelling a triangle is:
• label the sides a, b and c
• label the corners/angles A, B and C and call the whole triangle ABC. Each corner/angle is opposite the
side with the corresponding letter. So, for example, this side of the triangle could be called c or AB.

Note:
• The letters used to not have to be A, B and C. For example, you could have a triangle with corners P, Q
and R, and sides p, q and r. However, each angle/corner should still be opposite the side with the
corresponding letter.

Sine Rule
Use the sine rule when you are given

• two sides and an angle that is not in between them, or

• two angles and one side

Note: If you are given two angles in a triangle, you can easily work out the third angle using the fact that

angles in a triangle always add up to 180°

The sine rule states that in any triangle ABC,

𝑎 𝑏 𝑐 (this form is the most useful when

= =
sin(𝐴) sin(𝐵) sin(𝐶) you are finding a side length)
and
sin⁡(𝐴) sin⁡(𝐵) sin⁡(𝐶) (this form is the most useful when
= =
a 𝑏 𝑐 you are finding an angle)

For a proof with acute-angled triangles, see page 14 of the textbook. The proof for obtuse-angled triangles is
similar (as the textbook explains) and it also makes use of the formula sin(180 − 𝜃) = sin⁡(𝜃) (if angles are
measured in degrees). Those of you who are interested are invited to try proving the sine rule for obtuse-
angled triangles yourself.

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 𝑎 𝑏 𝑐
Note: The value of sin(𝐴) , sin(𝐵) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 sin(𝐶) is equal to the diameter of the circumcircle of triangle ABC (i.e., the
smallest circle that can completely enclose the triangle).

Example 1
a) In triangle ABC, b = 5 cm, a = 7 cm and A = 48°. Find the remaining sides and angles of the triangle (give
lengths in cm to 2 decimal places and angles in degrees to 1 decimal place).

b) In triangle MNP, M = 102°, N = 36° and n = 41 cm. Find the remaining sides and angles of the triangle.

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Ambiguous Case of the Sine Rule
If we are given two sides and the angle that is opposite the shorter side, there are actually two different
triangles that satisfy these conditions. This is known as the ambiguous case of the sine rule.

Both these triangles have one side that is 10 cm, one side that is 6 cm, and an angle of 28° opposite the 6 cm
side.

Example 2
In the triangles given above, find the remaining sides and angles (give sides in cm to 2 decimal places and
angles in degrees to 1 decimal place).

(Why does the ambiguous case occur only when the given angle is opposite the shorter of the two given sides?
For example, what happens if you try to apply the ambiguous case to Example 1a)?)

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Cosine Rule
Use the cosine rule when you are given
• two sides and the angle in between, or
• three sides

The cosine rule states that in any triangle ABC,

𝑐 2 = 𝑎 2 + 𝑏2 − 2𝑎𝑏 cos(𝐶)
𝑏2 = 𝑎 2 + 𝑐 2 − 2𝑎𝑐⁡cos⁡(𝐵)
𝑎 2 = 𝑏 2 + 𝑐 2 − 2𝑏𝑐⁡cos⁡(𝐴)
(these formulas are the most useful when you are given two sides and the angle in between)

(In words: Square the two given sides and add them together. Multiply the two given sides together, and
multiply by 2 and by the cosine of the angle in between. Subtract this from your previous answer. This equals
the square of the unknown side.)

For a proof with acute-angled triangles, see page 16 of the textbook. The proof for obtuse-angled triangles is
similar but it also makes use of the formula cos(180 − 𝜃) = −𝑐𝑜𝑠⁡(𝜃) (if angles are measured in degrees).
Those of you who are interested are invited to try proving the cosine rule for obtuse-angled triangles yourself.

If we rearrange the above equations, we get

𝑎2 + 𝑏2 − 𝑐2
cos(𝐶) =
2𝑎𝑏
𝑎2 + 𝑐 2 − 𝑏2
cos(𝐵) =
2𝑎𝑐
𝑏2 + 𝑐 2 − 𝑎2
cos(𝐴) =
2𝑏𝑐

(these formulas are the most useful when you are given three sides and you want to work out an angle)

Example 3
In triangle ABC, c = 3 m, a = 7 m and B = 38.2°. Find the length of b and the size of A (give sides in m to 2
decimal places and angles in degrees to 1 decimal place).

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