Law of

Sines
Solving Ambiguous Cases
 Description of Ambiguous Case.
Suppose we know the measure of
acute angle 𝐴 of triangle 𝐴𝐵𝐶, the
Law of Sines: Solving

length of side 𝑎, and the length of side

Ambiguous Case

𝑏 (Case 2, SSA), as shown in Figure 5.

We must draw the side of length of
side 𝑎 opposite angle 𝐴. There will be
a number of possible outcomes. This
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situation (SSA) is called the ambiguous
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case of the law of sines.
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Law of Sines: Solving

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Ambiguous Case
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Law of Sines: Solving

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Ambiguous Case
 Example 3. Solving Ambiguous Case (No
Law of Sines: Solving
Ambiguous Case

Such Triangle)
Solve triangle 𝐴𝐵𝐶 if 𝐵 = 55.67°, 𝑏 =
8.94 𝑚, and 𝑎 = 25.1 𝑚.
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Law of Sines: Solving
Ambiguous Case

Solution.
sin 𝐴 sin 𝐵
= Law of sines (alternative form)
𝑎 𝑏
sin 𝐴 sin 𝟓𝟓.𝟔𝟕°
= Substitute the given values.
𝟐𝟓.𝟏 𝟖.𝟗𝟒
25.1 sin 55.67°
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sin 𝐴 = Multiply by 25.1.
. 8.94
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𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝑨 ≈ 𝟐. 𝟑𝟏𝟔𝟓𝟗 Use a calculator.
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 Example 4. Solving Ambiguous Case (Two
Law of Sines: Solving
Ambiguous Case

Triangles)
Solve triangle 𝐴𝐵𝐶 if 𝐴 = 55.3° , 𝑎 =
22.8 𝑓𝑡, and 𝑏 = 24.9 𝑓𝑡.
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 Solution.
sin 𝐴 sin 𝐵
= Law of sines (alternative form)
𝑎 𝑏
sin 𝟓𝟓.𝟑° sin 𝐵
=
Law of Sines: Solving

Substitute the given values.

𝟐𝟐.𝟖 𝟐𝟒.𝟗
Ambiguous Case

24.9 sin 55.3°

sin 𝐵 = Multiply by 24.9
22.8
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝑩 ≈ 𝟎. 𝟖𝟗𝟕𝟖𝟔𝟖 Use a calculator.
There are two angles 𝐵 between 0° and 180° that
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satisfy this condition. Because sin 𝐵 ≈ 0.897868,
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one value of angle 𝐵, to the nearest tenth, is
. 𝑩𝟏 ≈ 𝟔𝟑. 𝟗°. Use the inverse sine function.

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 Solution. (continuation)

Supplementary angles have the same sine value, so

Law of Sines: Solving

another possible value of angle 𝐵 is

Ambiguous Case

𝑩𝟐 = 180° − 63.9° = 𝟏𝟏𝟔. 𝟏°.

To see whether 𝐵2 = 116.1° is a valid possibility, add
116.1° to the measure of 𝐴, 55.3°. Because
116.1° + 55.3° = 171.4°,
and this sum is less than 180°, it is a valid angle
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measure for this triangle.
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Law of Sines: Solving

Solution. (continuation)
Ambiguous Case

Now separately solve triangles

𝐴𝐵1 𝐶1 and 𝐴𝐵2 𝐶2 shown in the
figure in the right.
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 Solution. (continuation)
Begin with 𝐴𝐵1 𝐶1 . Find angle 𝐶1 first.
𝐶1 = 180° − 𝐴 − 𝐵1
Law of Sines: Solving

𝐶1 = 180° − 55.3° − 63.9°

Ambiguous Case

𝑪𝟏 = 𝟔𝟎. 𝟖°.
Now, use the law of sines to find side 𝑐1 .
𝑎 𝒄𝟏
= Law of sines
sin 𝐴 sin 𝐶1
22.8 𝒄𝟏
. = Substitute
. sin 55.3° sin 60.8°
22.8 sin 60.8°
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𝒄𝟏 = Multiply by sin 𝟔𝟎. 𝟖°
. sin 55.3°
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𝒄𝟏 ≈ 𝟐𝟒. 𝟐 𝒇𝒕 Approximate using calculator
 Solution. (continuation)
To solve triangle 𝐴𝐵2 𝐶2 . First find angle 𝐶2 .
𝐶2 = 180° − 𝐴 − 𝐵2
Law of Sines: Solving

𝐶2 = 180° − 55.3° − 116.1°

Ambiguous Case

𝑪𝟐 = 𝟖. 𝟔°.
Now, use the law of sines to find side 𝑐2 .
𝑎 𝒄𝟐
= Law of sines
sin 𝐴 sin 𝐶2
22.8 𝒄𝟐
. = Substitute
. sin 55.3° sin 8.6°
22.8 sin 8.6°
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𝒄𝟐 = Multiply by sin 𝟖. 𝟔°
. sin 55.3°
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𝒄𝟐 ≈ 𝟒. 𝟏𝟓 𝒇𝒕 Approximate using calculator
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Law of Sines: Solving

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Ambiguous Case
 Example 5. Solving Ambiguous Case (One
Law of Sines: Solving
Ambiguous Case

Triangle)
Solve triangle 𝐴𝐵𝐶, given 𝐴 = 43.5°, 𝑎 =
10.7 𝑖𝑛, and 𝑐 = 7.2 𝑖𝑛.
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 Solution. Given: 𝐴 = 43.5°, 𝑎 = 10.7 𝑖𝑛, and 𝑐 =
7.2 𝑖𝑛. Find angle 𝐶.
sin 𝐶 sin 𝐴
= Law of sines (alternative form)
Law of Sines: Solving

𝑐 𝑎
sin 𝐶 sin 𝟒𝟑.𝟓°
Ambiguous Case

= Substitute the given values.

𝟕.𝟐 𝟏𝟎.𝟕
7.2 sin 43.5°
sin 𝐶 = Multiply by 7.2
10.7
sin 𝐶 ≈ 0.4631918 Use a calculator.

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𝑪 ≈ 𝟐𝟕. 𝟓𝟗° Use the inverse sine function.

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There is another angle 𝐶 that has sine value
. 0.46319186. It is 𝑪 = 180° − 27.6° = 𝟏𝟓𝟐. 𝟒°.
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 Solution. (continuation) 𝐴 = 43.5°, 𝑎 = 10.7 𝑖𝑛 , and 𝑐 =
7.2 𝑖𝑛.
However, notice in the given information that 𝑐 < 𝑎, meaning that
in the triangle, angle 𝐶 must have measure less than angle 𝐴.
Law of Sines: Solving
Ambiguous Case

Notice also that when we add this obtuse value to the given angle
𝐴 = 43.5°, we obtain
152.4° + 43.5° = 𝟏𝟗𝟓. 𝟗°,
which is greater than 180°. Thus either of these approaches shows
that there can be only one triangle. See the figure below.
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 Solution. (continuation)
The measure of angle 𝐵 can be found
next.
Law of Sines: Solving

𝐵 = 180° − 27.6° − 43.5°

Ambiguous Case

𝑩 = 𝟏𝟎𝟖. 𝟗°
We can find side 𝑏 with the law of sines.
𝑎 𝒃
= Law of sines
sin 𝐴 sin 𝐵
10.7 𝒃
= Substitute
. sin 43.5° sin 108.9°
. 10.7 sin 108.9°
. 𝒃 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 43.5° Multiply by sin 𝟏𝟎𝟖. 𝟗°

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𝒃 ≈ 𝟏𝟒. 𝟕 𝒊𝒏. Approximate using calculator

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Law of Sines: Solving

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Ambiguous Case

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