14.1 - Trigonometry https://mathonweb.com/help_ebook/html/trigonometry.

htm

Solution: Since , this means that .

The picture shows that there are two ways that this ratio can happen.

If we let x = 1 then y = −1.24. This means that one angle is in quadrant

4.

And if we let x = −1 then y = + 1.24. This means that the other angle is
in quadrant 2.

The calculator gives tan−1(−1.24) = −51.1°. The picture shows that

this means that the angles are θ = 128.9° and θ = 308.9° (These values are gotten by taking −51.1° and adding
180° once and once again.)

Example: Find all the values of θ between 0° and 360° for which sec(θ) = −4.21

Solution: Since , this is exactly the same as saying that

. Since this means that .

If we let r = 1 then x = −0.2375. This means that the angles are in quadrants
2 and 3.

The calculator gives cos−1(−0.2375) = 103.7°

The picture shows that this means that the angles are θ = 103.7° and θ = 360°
− 103.7° = 256.3°.

Oblique triangles

An oblique triangle is one that doesn’t contain a right angle.

The naming convention for the angles and sides is that the angle and the side
opposite it have the same letter, as shown in the picture to the right.

The sine law and cosine law (derived below) are used to solve oblique triangles

12 of 35 10/11/2021, 5:20 pm
14.1 - Trigonometry https://mathonweb.com/help_ebook/html/trigonometry.htm

• the sine law:

• the cosine law:

Note the following points regarding the sine and cosine laws:

• If C = 90° then the sine law reduces to , namely the definition of the sine, and the cosine

law reduces to c2 = a2 + b2, namely Pythagoras’ Theorem.

• There is nothing special about angles A, B or C. We could just as well write the sine and cosine laws as
and

Derivation of The Sine Law

Break the triangle into 2 right triangles by dropping the perpendicular

with length h. Then:

and

Dividing the first equation by the second gives

which is another way to write the sine law.

Derivation of The Cosine Law

13 of 35 10/11/2021, 5:20 pm
14.1 - Trigonometry https://mathonweb.com/help_ebook/html/trigonometry.htm

Again break the triangle into 2 right triangles. Applying Pythagoras’

Theorem to the two right triangles gives:

Subtracting the second one from the first gives:

This is the cosine law: .

How to use the Sine and Cosine Laws

To solve an oblique triangle, a combination of at least 3 angles and sides must be given. The cases are
classified SAS, ASA, ASS, etc. If a side and the angle opposite it are given then you can use the sine law.
Otherwise you must use the cosine law.

If you are using the sine law to find an angle you will eventually need to evaluate a sin−1. If the angle you are
looking for is acute then the calculator returns the correct value. But if the angle is obtuse then the angle
given by the calculator is not the correct one. You need the one in the second quadrant (which can be gotten
by subtracting the calculator angle from 180°.) (Recall that an acute angle is an angle between 0° and 90°.
An obtuse angle is an angle between 90° and 180°.)

Example: Solve the oblique triangle.

Solution: Since the angles add to 180°:

C = 180° − 32.5° − 49.7° = 97.8°

Now use the sine law to get sides b and c:

14 of 35 10/11/2021, 5:20 pm
14.1 - Trigonometry https://mathonweb.com/help_ebook/html/trigonometry.htm

Solving for b gives

Solving for c gives

The unknown sides and angles are C = 97.8°, b = 321 and c = 417.

Example. Ambiguous case: Solve the oblique triangle with given information about an angle and two sides:

A = 25.3°, c = 152 and a = 95.0

Solution: Note that the given information is not enough to decide whether the triangle is ABC or ABC' shown
here:

This is called the ASS ambiguity. If we use the sine law to get angle C, we get:

15 of 35 10/11/2021, 5:20 pm
14.1 - Trigonometry https://mathonweb.com/help_ebook/html/trigonometry.htm

Notice the two values of sin−1 give the two values of C in the two possible triangles.

• First possibility: C = 43.1° Then B = 180° − 25.3° − 43.1° = 111.6° and b comes from the sine law:

• Second possibility: C = 136.9° Then B = 180° − 25.3° − 136.9° = 17.8° and b comes from the sine
law:

In summary there are two possibilities: either C = 43.1°, B = 111.6° and b = 207
or C = 136.9°, B = 17.8° and b = 68.1

Example: Solve the oblique triangle shown.

Solution: Since we don’t know any side - opposite angle pair we must begin with the cosine law:

16 of 35 10/11/2021, 5:20 pm
14.1 - Trigonometry https://mathonweb.com/help_ebook/html/trigonometry.htm

Now find angle B using the sine law:

From the picture it is clear that B is acute and that the only possibility is that B = 30.2° And therefore A =
127.6°

In summary, c = 91.5, B = 30.2° and A = 127.6°

Algebra Coach Exercises

Vectors

Definition: A vector is a quantity that has a direction as well as a magnitude. Compare this with a scalar,
which is a quantity that has only magnitude. An example of a vector is force. To accelerate an object in a
certain direction you need to apply a force in that direction. An example of a scalar is temperature;
temperature doesn’t point in any direction.

An arrow can be used to represent a vector. The length of the arrow represents the magnitude of the vector
and the direction of the arrow is the direction of the vector.

Vector Addition: To add two vectors A and B geometrically you put the tail of B at the head of A or vice
versa. The resulting vector, A + B, shown below in red, points from s (start) to f (finish). This is called
parallelogram construction. The vector A + B is called the resultant of adding vectors A and B.

17 of 35 10/11/2021, 5:20 pm