Oblique Triangles

Lesson 11a
• Oblique Triangle – a non-right triangle.

It may be acute.

It may be obtuse.

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 2

All triangles have six parts…three
sides and three angles.
 A

c
b

B
a
C
How you solve the oblique triangle
depends on what you are given.

• AAS
• ASA
• SSA
• SSS
• SAS
Decide whether the following are ASA,
AAS, SSA, SSS, or SAS.

82
42 cm
65 cm

SAS
Decide whether the following are ASA,
AAS, SSA, SSS, or SAS.

54

32 mm

37 ASA
Decide whether the following are ASA,
AAS, SSA, SSS, or SAS.

14

AAS
22
19 miles
Decide whether the following are ASA,
AAS, SSA, SSS, or SAS.

65

53 yd
SSA
87 yd
THE LAW OF SINE AND LAW OF COSINE

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 10

 SOH-CAH-TOA can only be used for right-angled triangles.
The Sine Law can be used for any triangle:

The sides are labelled to match b a

their opposite angles

A B
c

sin A sin B sin C

The Sine Law: = =
a b c

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 11

 Derivation of Sine Law
• Let be a triangle and let be its altitude. Recall that
the sine of an angle in a triangle is the ratio of the
length of its opposite leg to the length of its
hypotenuse.

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 12

• In triangle ACD,

• This means that,

• In triangle BCD,

• Then:
• Dividing both sides by sin A sin B gives us

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 13

• Now, it remains to be shown that

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 14

 Sine Law is used when:
We have two angles and a side

OR

We have two sides and the non-included

angle (this is the ambiguous case)

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 15

Find the length of h in mm.
G

41º
Use sine law to
find h.

35.31 mm

76º I
H 26 mm
L11a -- Oblique Triangles 16
 Find the length of a in cm.
B

53º
5.53 mm

A 62º

5c
m

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 17

Find the measure of angle ABC.
C
∠ 𝐵=∠ 𝐴𝐵𝐶

5 cm 47º

B37.55°

θ
A B
6 cm
L11a -- Oblique Triangles 18
 Find the measure of angle PRQ:

Q
6 km
51.10 °

P
27º 3.5 km

θ
R

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 19

We use the Cosine Law when:
Two sides and the INCLUDED
angle (SAS)
OR

All three sides (SSS)

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 20

 The Cosine Law
A

c b

B C
B a C

(One side)2
=
(other side)2+(last side)2
-
2(other side)(last side)cos(angle of 1st side)
L11a -- Oblique Triangles 21
 Derivation of Cosine Law
In triangle CBD,
cos C = x / a
B Then, x= a cos C (Eq #1)
Using Pythagorean Theorem
h2 = a 2 - x 2 (Eq #2)
In triangle BDA,
a h c Using Pythagorean Theorem
c2 = h2 + (b – x)2
c2 = h2 + b2 – 2bx + x2 (Eq #3)
Substitute with h2 Eq #2
C x D b-x A c2 = a2 - x2 + b2 – 2bx + x2
Combine like Terms
b c2 = a2 - x2 + b2 – 2bx + x2
c2 = a2 + b2 – 2bx
Finally, substitute x with Eq #1
c2 = a2 + b2 – 2ba cos C
Therefore: c2 = a2 + b2 – 2ab cos C
Find the length of side a
a2 = b2 + c2 – 2bc cos A

a2 = 77.46 cm2

a = 8.80 cm

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 23

Find the length of side r in km:
r2 = q2 + p2 – 2qp cos R

r2 = 11.44 km2

r = 3.38 km

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 24

 Find the length of AC in cm:
b2 = a2 + c2 – 2ac cos B
B
b2 = 70.35 cm2

m 72º b = 8.39 cm
c
8.3

A 5.4 cm

C
L11a -- Oblique Triangles 25
Find the measure of the unknown angles

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 26

 Find the measure of the largest angle of a
triangle with sides 11cm, 13cm, and 19cm.

L11a -- Oblique Triangles 27

 A pole tilts away from the sun at an 8 angle from 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. How tall is the pole?

Step 1: Determine the Type of Triangle.

Step 2: Determine what part of the triangle you need to find.

8 x
Step 3: Determine which Law to use.

82
43
22 feet