9.

7 Warmup
1. A right triangle has legs of 8 centimeters and 13
centimeters. Solve the triangle completely.

2. A right triangle has a leg length of 7 in. and a hypotenuse

length of 14 in. Solve the triangle completely.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 1

9.7 Warmup
1. A right triangle has legs of 8 centimeters and 13
centimeters. Solve the triangle completely.

2. A right triangle has a leg length of 7 in. and a

hypotenuse length of 14 in. Solve the triangle completely.

3. A right triangle has legs that both measure to be 10

meters. Solve the triangle completely.
April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 2
Geometry

9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines

9.7 Essential Question

When do you use the Law of Sines and the Law of

Cosines?

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 4

 What if you have a triangle that is not
a right triangle?

So far, you have used trigonometric ratios to solve right

triangles. In this lesson, you will learn how to solve any
triangle.

When the triangle is obtuse, you may need to find a

trigonometric ratio for an obtuse angle.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 5

Example 1

Use a calculator to find each trigonometric ratio.

Round your answer to four decimal places.
a. tan 150° b. sin 120° c. cos 95°

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 6

Area of a Triangle

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 7

Example 2

Find the area of the triangle. Round your answer to the

nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 8

 Your Turn
Find the area of ?ABC with the given side lengths and
included angle. Round your answer to the nearest tenth.
C = 29°, a = 38, b = 31

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 9

Law of Sines

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 10

 When do you use the Law of Sines?
There are two cases for using the Law of Sines:
Given 2 angles and Given 2 sides and
or
any side… AAS or ASA 1 opposite angle… SSA
Find the side opposite Find the angle
an angle. opposite a side.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 11

 Example 3
Solve the triangle. Round decimal answers to the nearest tenth.
Use the Law of Sines to find 𝑚∠B.

sin 𝐵 sin 𝐴
=
𝑏 𝑎
sin 𝐵 sin 115° By the Triangle Sum Theorem,
=
11 20
𝑚∠𝐶 ≈ 180° − 115° − 29.9°
11 𝑠𝑖𝑛115°
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝐵 =
20 𝑚∠𝐶 ≈ 35.1°
𝑚∠𝐵 ≈ 29.9°
April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 12
 Example 3 (continued)
Solve the triangle. Round decimal answers to the nearest tenth.
Use the Law of Sines again to find the remaining side length, c, of the triangle.
𝑐 𝑎
=
sin 𝐶 sin 𝐴
𝑐 20
=
sin 35.1° sin 115°
In ΔABC, 𝑚∠𝐵 ≈ 29.9°,
20 sin 35.1°
𝑐=
𝑠𝑖𝑛115° 𝑚∠𝐶 ≈ 35.1°, and 𝑐 ≈ 12.7.
𝑐 ≈ 12.7
April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 13
 Your Turn
Solve the triangle. Round decimal answers to the nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 14

 Example 4
Solve the triangle. Round decimal answers to the nearest tenth.

By the Triangle Sum Theorem, 𝑚∠𝐴 = 180° − 107° − 25° = 48° In ΔABC,
𝑎 15 𝑐 𝑚∠𝐴 = 48°
By the Law of Sines, you can write = = 𝑎 ≈ 26.4
sin 48° sin 25° sin 107°
𝑎 15 𝑐 15
𝑐 ≈ 33.9
= Write two equations, =
sin 48° sin 25° each with one variable. sin 107° sin 25°
15 sin 48° 15 sin 107°
𝑎= 𝑐=
sin 25° sin 25°

𝑎 ≈ 26.4 𝑐 ≈ 33.9

April 3, 2017 15
9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines
 Your Turn
Solve the triangle. Round decimal answers to the nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 16

 Example 5
A surveyor makes the measurements shown to determine the
length of a bridge to be built across a small lake from the North
Picnic Area to the South Picnic Area. Find the length of the
bridge.
In the diagram, the bridge will be the length of c.
𝑐 𝑏
By the Law of Sines, =
sin 𝐶 sin 𝐵

By the Triangle Sum Theorem, 𝑚∠𝐵 = 180° − 71° − 60° = 49°

𝑐 150
= The length of the bridge
sin 60° sin 49°
150 sin 60°
will be about 172.1 meters.
𝑐= 𝑐 ≈ 172.1
sin 49°
April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 17
Law of Cosines

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 18

 When do you use the Law of Cosines?
There are two cases for using the Law of Cosines:
SAS SSS
Given 2 sides and or Given 3 sides…
1 included angle… Find any angle
Find the third side

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 19

 Example 6
Solve the triangle. Round decimal
answers to the nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 20

 Example 6 (continued)
Solve the triangle. Round decimal
answers to the nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 21

 Your Turn
Solve the triangle. Round decimal
answers to the nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 22

 Example 7
Solve the triangle. Round decimal answers to
the nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 23

 Example 7 (continued)
Solve the triangle. Round decimal
answers to the nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 24

 Your Turn
Solve the triangle. Round decimal
answers to the nearest tenth.

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 25

Homework

April 3, 2017 9.7 Law of Sines and Cosines 26