The Law of Sines Section 6.

A triangle that does not contain a right angle is called an oblique triangle.

An oblique triangle will have either three acute

angles or one obtuse angle and two acute angles.

Acute Triangle Obtuse Triangle

All angles acute One angle obtuse

For an oblique triangle, given the length of a side and any other two parts of the triangle we can solve the triangle.

There are four distinct cases involving known angles (A) and known sides (S).

Solved with Law of Sines Solved with Law of Cosines

Two angles and any side (ASA or SAA) Three sides (SSS)
Two sides and an angle opposite one of them (SSA) Two sides and the angle between them (SAS)

B B B

c c a c
c c
A
A C b b b
ASA SAA SSA SSS SAS

Solve a Triangle Using the Law of Sines (SAA or ASA)

Law of Sines If ABC is a triangle with sides of length a, b, and c opposite angles A, B, and C, respectively, then

a b c sin A sin B sin C

= = or = = .
sin A sin B sin C a b c

The ratio of the length of a side of a triangle to the sine of the angle opposite that side is the same for all three side-
angle combinations.

To apply the law of sines, we need to have one complete ratio and one other piece of information about the triangle
(another side or another angle).
 1. Solve the triangle. Round the lengths of sides and measures of the angles to 1 decimal place if necessary.
B
105°
c a

48°
A C
b = 27

Step 1: Find the exact measure of the missing angle.

Step 2: Write one complete ratio and use the third piece of information to fill in part of a ratio.

Step 3: Choose another set of ratios to solve, preferably one with no rounded values.

2. Solve the triangle with A = 32, B = 78, and c = 57. Round the lengths of the sides to 1 decimal place.
Solve a Triangle Using the Law of Sines (SSA) Ambiguous Case

Suppose that the measure of angle A and the lengths of sides a and b of a triangle are given.

Depending on the length of side a (shown in red) relative to the length of the altitude h, we have four different
scenarios.

No triangle One right triangle One oblique triangle Two triangles: One acute
and one obtuse triangle
C C C C
a
b b a b a b
h h a a
A A B A B A
B B B
a<h a=h a>b h<a<b
Side a is too short Side a exactly equals One triangle possible Side a intersects side c
to meet side c. the altitude. at an obtuse or acute angle.

3. (No solution) Solve the triangle with A = 28, a = 12, and b = 38. Round the measures of the unknown angles
and side to 1 decimal place.

4. (1 solution) Solve the triangle with C = 68, b = 13, and c = 15. Round the measures of the unknown angles
and side to 1 decimal place.
5. (2 solutions) Solve the triangle with B = 28, b = 10, and a = 18 . Round the measures of the unknown angles
and side to 1 decimal place.

Compute the Area of a Triangle given SAS

C
For a triangle ABC , the area of the triangle is given by
b a
1 1 1
Area = bc sin A or Area = ab sin C or Area = ac sin B.
2 2 2 A c B

6. Find the area of a triangle with the given measurements. Round to one decimal place.
A = 87°, b = 10 ft , c = 23 ft
Apply the Law of Sines

7. A helicopter is on a path directly overhead line AB when it is simultaneously observed from locations A and B
separated by 200 ft. If the angle of elevation from A is 39° and the angle of elevation from B is 20°, what is the
distance from each location to the helicopter? Round to the nearest foot.

A B
200 ft

8. To estimate the height of a building, two measurements are taken. The first measurement shows an angle of
elevation to the top of the building as 43°. The second measurement, taken 100 feet closer to the base, yields
an angle of elevation of 78°. From these measurements, estimate the height of the building. Round to the
nearest foot.