Skip to main content
Back

Law of Sines definitions

Control buttons has been changed to "navigation" mode.
1/15
  • Law of Sines
    Equation relating side lengths and sines of opposite angles in non-right triangles, enabling calculation of unknown sides or angles.
  • Non-right Triangle
    Triangle lacking a 90-degree angle, requiring specialized methods for solving unknowns, such as the Law of Sines.
  • Angle-Side-Angle (ASA)
    Configuration where two angles and the included side are known, allowing determination of remaining sides and angles.
  • Side-Angle-Angle (SAA)
    Setup with two angles and a non-included side given, facilitating calculation of missing triangle elements.
  • Side-Side-Angle (SSA)
    Arrangement with two sides and a non-included angle provided, often leading to ambiguous solutions.
  • Ambiguous Case
    Situation in SSA triangles where the given data may yield zero, one, or two possible triangle solutions.
  • Ratio
    Comparison of side length to sine of its opposite angle, forming the basis of the Law of Sines.
  • Inverse Sine
    Function used to determine an angle from its sine value, crucial for resolving ambiguous cases.
  • Angle Sum Formula
    Rule stating that the sum of a triangle's interior angles equals 180 degrees, used to find unknown angles.
  • Acute Angle
    Angle less than 90 degrees, often encountered in triangle solutions using the Law of Sines.
  • Obtuse Angle
    Angle greater than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees, possible outcome in ambiguous SSA cases.
  • Unit Circle
    Concept explaining why sine values correspond to two possible angles between 0 and 180 degrees.
  • Notation
    System using capital letters for angles and lowercase for sides, or Greek symbols, to label triangle elements.
  • Cross Multiplication
    Algebraic technique for solving ratios in the Law of Sines, enabling isolation of unknown variables.
  • Triangle Classification
    Process of identifying triangle type based on given sides and angles, guiding the solution method.