The Sine Rule – The Ambiguous Case

Criterion B Formative Investigation

Example

Construct a triangle with A  40 , a  6 cm and c  8 cm.

Step 1: Draw a long horizontal line. Label one end of the line A. Use a protractor to measure angle A.

Step 2: Draw side c, which is 8 cm long. Label the end of the line B.

8 cm

A
Step 3: Draw a line from B which is 6 cm long and meets the horizontal line. You should find that it
is possible to draw two lines. Draw them both. Label the points where they meet the
horizontal line C1 and C2. B

8 cm
6 cm
6 cm

40
A C1 C2
We have constructed two triangles which satisfy A  40 , a  6 cm and c  8 cm.

Triangle 1: ABC1: B

8 cm
6 cm
6 cm

40
A C1 C2
B
Triangle 2: ABC2:

8 cm
6 cm
6 cm

40
A C1 C2

Complete the tasks on the following pages. Task 1 refers to this example…
Task 1: (This corresponds to levels 1 – 2 of criterion B)

 Use the sine rule to show that one value for angle C is 58.987 . Have you calculated C1 or C2? Add
this angle to the correct part of the diagram below.
 Use angle properties to calculate the size of every other angle in the diagram.
 Calculate the lengths of AC1 and AC2 to 2 decimal places.

8 cm
6 cm 6 cm

40
A C1 C2

Working Out

Summarize your results in the table below. Triangle 1 should be the smaller triangle:

Triangle A B C a b c

1 40 6 cm 8 cm

2 40 6 cm 8 cm
Task 2: (This corresponds to levels 3 – 4 of criterion B)

Find the lengths of all sides and the size of all angles in a triangle with A  45 , a  8 cm
and c  10 cm.

Summarize your results in the table below. Triangle 1 should be the smaller triangle:

Triangle A B C a b c

1 45 8 cm 10 cm

2 45 8 cm 10 cm
Task 3: (This corresponds to levels 3 – 4 of criterion B)

Find the lengths of all sides and the size of all angles in a triangle with C  30 , c  7 cm
and b  12 cm.

Summarize your results in the table below. Triangle 1 should be the smaller triangle:

Triangle A B C a b c

1 30 12 cm 7 cm

2 30 12 cm 7 cm
Task 4: (This corresponds to levels 5 – 6 of criterion B)

By drawing accurate scale diagrams, determine how many triangles can be constructed
using the given information (circle your choice).

a) A  35 , a  6 cm and c  9 cm

Number of triangles: 0 / 1 / 2

b) B  42 , b  12 cm and c  7 cm

Number of triangles: 0 / 1 / 2
 c) C  50 , c  55 cm and a  90 cm

Number of triangles: 0 / 1 / 2

d) A  30 , a  50 cm and c  100 cm

Number of triangles: 0 / 1 / 2
Task 5: (This corresponds to levels 7 – 8 of criterion B)

If we are given the size of angle A (which is less than 90 ) and the lengths of sides a and b,
determine the relationship between A, a and b if we be able to construct i) one triangle ii) two
triangles and iii) no triangles

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Use your rules to complete the following table:

Number of
Given Measurements possible triangles Reason
(0/1/2)

A  70 , a  5 cm and c  10 cm

B  20 , b  30 cm and c  20 cm

A  45 , a  10 cm and c  14 cm

C  30 , c  8 cm and a  16 cm
If you forgot your protractor, cut out one of these and use it: