If you are stood on the bridge what is the

angle of elevation needed for you to look at

the top of the Burj Khalifa?

What factors must you consider?

Trigonometry 2 – Sine/Cosine
Rule
Labelling Sides of Non-Right Angle Triangles

Right-Angled Triangles: Non-Right-Angled Triangles:

 
h
 
𝑎
 
𝑜
 
𝐶
?  
𝑏
𝐵?
 

?  𝐴
 
𝑎  
𝑐
  label the sides and their
We
corresponding OPPOSITE
angles
OVERVIEW: Finding missing sides and angles
You have You want Use
#1: Two angle-side Missing angle or Sine rule
opposite pairs side in one pair

#2 Two sides known Remaining side Cosine rule

and a missing side
opposite a known
angle

#3 All three sides An angle Cosine rule

#4 Two sides known Remaining side Sine rule

and a missing side not twice
opposite known angle
Examples

Q1
Q2 8
8 50°
85° 100°

45° 30° 15.76

?
11.27
?
   

You have You want Use

#1: Two angle-side Missing angle or Sine rule
opposite pairs side in one pair
Examples
 When you have a missing angle, it’s better to ‘flip’ your formula to get

i.e. in general put the missing value in the numerator.

Q3 5 Q4
8
126°
85° 40.33°
?
?
56.11° 6 10

sin𝜃 sin85 sin𝜃 sin126°

   

= =
5 6 8 10
Test Your Understanding

𝑄
 

𝑃
 
20°
  82°
 
10 𝑚
 

85°
  𝜃
 

 
5 𝑐𝑚  
12 𝑚
 
𝑅  Determine the angle .
 Determine the length .

?
?
Exercise 1
Find the missing angle or side. Give answers to 3sf.
Q1 Q2 Q3
15
 
85°
  10
  16
  12
   𝑦
 𝑥 30°
 
30°
 
40°
 
 𝑥 20
 

 𝑥=53.1
?°  𝑦=56.4?°
 𝑥=23.2
?
 𝑥
Q4
Q5
Q6 70
  °
35°
  10
 
40°
   5
10
  𝛼
 
20
 

 𝛼 =16.7
?°  𝑥=5.32
?
 𝑥
 𝑥=6.84
?
 Cosine Rule
The sine rule could be used whenever we had two pairs of sides and opposite angles involved.
However, sometimes there may only be one angle involved. We then use something called the
cosine rule.

 𝑏  Cosine Rule:
15
 

 𝐴
 The only angle in formula is , so label angle in
115°
 
 𝑎 diagram , label
How areopposite
sidesside , and so on
labelled ? ( and
can go either way).
 𝑐   𝑥
12
 
Calculation?
Sin or Cosine Rule?
If you were given these exam questions, which would you use?

10
   𝑥
 𝑥
10
 

70°
  70°
 

15
  15
 


Sine 
Cosine 
Sine 
Cosine

10
  10
 
 𝛼
 7
 𝛼 70
  °
15
  12
 


Sine 
Cosine 
Sine 
Cosine
Test Your Understanding

e.g. 1 e.g. 2
 𝑥

 𝑥
 4
 7  8
47
  ° 106.4°
 

 7

 𝑥=6.05
?  𝑥=8.99
?

You have You want Use

Two sides known and a missing Remaining side Cosine rule
side opposite a known angle
Dealing with Missing Angles
You have You want Use
All three sides An angle Cosine rule

𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
 
𝒂 =𝒃 +𝒄 − 𝟐 𝒃𝒄 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝑨
 7

 𝛼
Label sides then
 4 substitute into
 9 ? formula.

𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
 

𝟒 =𝟕 +𝟗 −(𝟐×𝟕×𝟗×𝐜𝐨𝐬𝜶)
? Simplify each bit of formula.

? Rearrange (I use ‘swapsie’

trick to swap thing you’re
subtracting and result)

? While
 aren’t the brackets here
necessary (given
BIDMAS), a common
student error is to
calculate and hence
simplify to:
 Test Your Understanding

4 𝑐𝑚
 

8
 
7 𝑐𝑚
 

5
 

𝜃
 
9 𝑐𝑚
  𝜃
 

7
 

2 2 2
 

2 2 2
8 =7 +5 − (2×7×5×cos𝜃) 4 =7 +9 −(2×7×9×cos𝜃)
 

? ?
Exercise 2
Use the cosine rule to determine the missing angle/side. Quickly copy out the diagram first.
1 2 3

 5  5  8  7
 𝑥 100°
   6
60°
 
 𝜃
 7  𝑦  6
 𝑥=6.24
?   𝑦=10.14
?  𝜃=71.4
?°
5  𝑥
4
 6 6
12
 
 𝑥 10
 
43°
 
65°  𝛽
   8  5
 6
13.2
 
 𝑥=4.398
?  3
 𝑥=9.513
?  𝛽= 92.5°
?
Exercise 2
7 8 135°
  9
5.2
  58
 
 4  5
 𝜃 11
 
75°
 
70
 
 𝑥
 8
 3
 𝑥=50.22  𝑥
 𝜃=111.1°
?
?
 𝑥=6.2966
?
10 11
 4  5  3
75°
 
 𝜃

 2
 3
30°
 
 𝑥
70°
 
 3
 𝑥=6.2966
?  𝜃=29.8
? °
Using sine rule twice
You have You want Use
#4 Two sides known Remaining side Sine rule
and a missing side not twice
opposite known angle

 Given there is just one angle involved,

you might attempt to use the cosine
  4 rule:

32°
  ?
  3
  𝑥
 Using sine rule twice
You have You want Use
#4 Two sides known Remaining side Sine rule
and a missing side not twice
opposite known angle

! 2: Which means we would then

know this angle.
  4 𝟏𝟖𝟎
  −𝟑𝟐− 𝟒𝟒 .𝟗𝟓𝟓𝟔=𝟏𝟎𝟑
? . 𝟎𝟒𝟒𝟒

1: We could use the sine

rule to find this angle.   3 32°
 

  Using the sine rule a second

3:
 
?
  𝑥 time allows us to find
  𝑥 3
?=
sin103.0444 sin 32
Test Your Understanding

  9  
𝑦=6.97
?
  𝑦

61 °
   10
  4   3

53 °
 
 
𝑦=5.01
?
  𝑦
Area of Non Right-Angled Triangles

3cm
Area = 0.5 x 3 x 7 x sin(59)
= 9.00cm?2
59°

7cm

!  
Area =
Where C is the angle wedged between two sides a and b.
Test Your Understanding
 
1
  9 𝐴= ×6.97 ×10×
? 𝑠𝑖𝑛 61
2
6.97
 

61 °
 
10
 

 
5  
5

 
1
𝐴= ×5×5×sin
? 60
2  
5
Harder Examples
Q1 (Edexcel June 2014) Q2

6
 

7
 

 
8
 Finding angle :
 Using cosine rule to find angle
opposite 8:
Area of
?
?
Exercise 3 Find the area of each of these shapes.

Q2 Q3
Q1 Q4

3
  5
 
1
 
1
 
3.6
100°
3.8 5
75°
 8
?
Area = 7.39 1
  5.2 70°
 
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎=
√3 =0.433
4 ? ?
Area = 9.04
?
Area = 8.03
2cm
Q5 Q6 Q7
8 .7 𝑐   110 °
𝑚 3cm
 4 9°
 Area = ?
 64 °
Q8
4.2m
3m
?𝑐 𝑚2
 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎=29.25  is the midpoint of and the
midpoint of . is a sector of a
circle. Find the shaded area. 5.3m
  1 ×6 2 × sin 60 − 1 𝜋 ( 32 )=10.9 𝑐 𝑚2
( 2 )?6  Area = ?
Segment Area
 
𝐴   is a sector of a circle, centred at .

  0 𝑐𝑚
Determine the area of the shaded segment.
1
𝑂 70 °
   
?
?

?
 
𝐵
Test Your Understanding

  𝐴 =119 ?
𝑚 2
  𝐴 =3 𝜋 −
? 9
Where it gets more Further Maths-ey…
You will frequently encounter either
algebraic or surd sides.
The approach is exactly the same as
before.

 
(But would lead to side of being negative)

?
Another Example
Jan 2013 Paper 2 Q20

 
1  
Use

18= ×𝑤×2𝑤×sin30
?
2 Can now use cosine rule.
 Test Your Understanding
AQA Set 4 Paper 1

Frost Special

 2 𝑥  𝑥 √6

60
  °
 
2 2 2
𝑝 =𝑚 +(3 𝑚 ) − (2×𝑚×3𝑚×cos60)
?  𝑥+3

 Determine the value of .

?
3D
1   pyramid has a square base of sides 6cm.
A
2 The
  diagram shows a vertical
Vertex , is directly above the centre of the mast, , 12 metres high. Points
base, . are on a horizontal plane.
Work out the height of the pyramid. Point is due West of .
a) Calculate
b) Calculate the bearing of
from to the nearest degree
?
 a)

b) ?

?
 Exercise 4
1  [June 2012 Paper 2 Q13] Work out 3
angle .
 𝑥+1
 𝑥

60°
 

2
  𝑥 −1
 𝒙=𝟏𝟎𝟐 .𝟔𝟒 °  Use the cosine rule to determine .
?
 
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐?
2  Here is a triangle. Work out .
( 𝒙+𝟏) =𝒙 +(𝟐 𝒙−𝟏) −𝟐𝒙 (𝟐 𝒙−𝟏) 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝟔𝟎
 𝜽 =𝟑𝟎 °
?
Exercise 4
4 5

 3 𝑥  √2  𝜃
  𝑦
 45 °
30°
 
√3
 

 2 𝑥
 The angle is obtuse. Determine .
 
Given that the area of the
triangle is 24cm2. Find the
values of and . (Remember that )
?

?
Exercise 4
6  
[June 2012 Paper 1] Triangle ABC has an
obtuse angle at C. Given that , use triangle to
show that angle

𝐬𝐢𝐧𝑩 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝑨 𝟎.𝟐𝟓

 

= = ?

𝟒 √ 𝟑−𝟔 𝟐− √𝟑 𝟐− √𝟑
Exercise 4
7

June 2013 Paper 2 Q23

  triangle , bisects angle .
In
?
Use the sine rule in triangles and to
prove that .
Exercise 5 - Mixed Exercises
Q4 90𝑚
 
Q1 Q2
27
Q3  𝑧
  30°
  130°
 
80°  8
11
 
   𝑦
𝛼
  60𝑚
 
40°
 
70° 18
 𝑥    

𝛼=17.79°?
?
  ? 10
   
? 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟
 
?
Q5
b) ?  
𝑦=10.45 ?
?
4.6
  Q7 Q8
 𝜃 15
 
  7  5
Q6 52°
 
6𝑐𝑚
   61 °
12
 
𝑄𝑅=12.6
  𝑥
  ? 𝑐𝑚 2
 𝜃=122.8°  𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎=2.15?𝑐 𝑚
?  
𝑥=7.89 ?
?
New Edition Textbook