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Explain the relationship between the Pythagorean Theorem and the Law of Cosines.

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When must you use the Law of Cosines instead of the Pythagorean Theorem?

The Law of Cosines must be used for any oblique (non-right) triangle.

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Algebraic

For the following exercises, assume α is opposite side a , β is opposite side b , and γ is opposite side c . If possible, solve each triangle for the unknown side. Round to the nearest tenth.

γ = 41.2° , a = 2.49 , b = 3.13

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α = 120° , b = 6 , c = 7

11.3

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β = 58.7° , a = 10.6 , c = 15.7

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γ = 115° , a = 18 , b = 23

34.7

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α = 119° , a = 26 , b = 14

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γ = 113° , b = 10 , c = 32

26.7

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β = 67° , a = 49 , b = 38

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α = 43.1° , a = 184.2 , b = 242.8

257.4

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α = 36.6° , a = 186.2 , b = 242.2

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β = 50° , a = 105 , b = 45

not possible

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For the following exercises, use the Law of Cosines to solve for the missing angle of the oblique triangle. Round to the nearest tenth.

a = 42 , b = 19 , c = 30 ; find angle A .

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a = 14 ,   b = 13 ,   c = 20 ; find angle C .

95.5°

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a = 16 , b = 31 , c = 20 ; find angle B .

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a = 13 , b = 22 , c = 28 ; find angle A .

26.9°

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a = 108 , b = 132 , c = 160 ; find angle C .

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For the following exercises, solve the triangle. Round to the nearest tenth.

A = 35° , b = 8 , c = 11

B 45.9° , C 99.1° , a 6.4

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B = 88° , a = 4.4 , c = 5.2

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C = 121° , a = 21 , b = 37

A 20.6° , B 38.4° , c 51.1

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a = 13 , b = 11 , c = 15

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a = 3.1 , b = 3.5 , c = 5

A 37.8° , B 43.8 , C 98.4°

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a = 51 , b = 25 , c = 29

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For the following exercises, use Heron’s formula to find the area of the triangle. Round to the nearest hundredth.

Find the area of a triangle with sides of length 18 in, 21 in, and 32 in. Round to the nearest tenth.

177.56 in 2

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Find the area of a triangle with sides of length 20 cm, 26 cm, and 37 cm. Round to the nearest tenth.

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a = 1 2 m , b = 1 3 m , c = 1 4 m

0.04 m 2

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a = 12.4  ft ,   b = 13.7  ft ,   c = 20.2  ft

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a = 1.6  yd ,   b = 2.6  yd ,   c = 4.1  yd

0.91 yd 2

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Graphical

For the following exercises, find the length of side x . Round to the nearest tenth.

For the following exercises, find the measurement of angle A .

Find the measure of each angle in the triangle shown in [link] . Round to the nearest tenth.

A triangle A B C. Angle A is opposite a side of length 10, angle B is opposite a side of length 12, and angle C is opposite a side of length 7.
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For the following exercises, solve for the unknown side. Round to the nearest tenth.

For the following exercises, find the area of the triangle. Round to the nearest hundredth.

Extensions

A parallelogram has sides of length 16 units and 10 units. The shorter diagonal is 12 units. Find the measure of the longer diagonal.

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The sides of a parallelogram are 11 feet and 17 feet. The longer diagonal is 22 feet. Find the length of the shorter diagonal.

18.3

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The sides of a parallelogram are 28 centimeters and 40 centimeters. The measure of the larger angle is 100°. Find the length of the shorter diagonal.

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A regular octagon is inscribed in a circle with a radius of 8 inches. (See [link] .) Find the perimeter of the octagon.

An octagon inscribed in a circle.

48.98

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A regular pentagon is inscribed in a circle of radius 12 cm. (See [link] .) Find the perimeter of the pentagon. Round to the nearest tenth of a centimeter.

A pentagon inscribed in a circle.
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For the following exercises, suppose that x 2 = 25 + 36 60 cos ( 52 ) represents the relationship of three sides of a triangle and the cosine of an angle.

Find the length of the third side.

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For the following exercises, find the area of the triangle.

Questions & Answers

how to study physic and understand
Ewa Reply
what is conservative force with examples
Moses
what is work
Fredrick Reply
the transfer of energy by a force that causes an object to be displaced; the product of the component of the force in the direction of the displacement and the magnitude of the displacement
AI-Robot
why is it from light to gravity
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difference between model and theory
Esther
Is the ship moving at a constant velocity?
Kamogelo Reply
The full note of modern physics
aluet Reply
introduction to applications of nuclear physics
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the explanation is not in full details
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I need more explanation or all about kinematics
Moses
yes
zephaniah
I need more explanation or all about nuclear physics
aluet
Show that the equal masses particles emarge from collision at right angle by making explicit used of fact that momentum is a vector quantity
Muhammad Reply
yh
Isaac
A wave is described by the function D(x,t)=(1.6cm) sin[(1.2cm^-1(x+6.8cm/st] what are:a.Amplitude b. wavelength c. wave number d. frequency e. period f. velocity of speed.
Majok Reply
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Somto Reply
A body is projected upward at an angle 45° 18minutes with the horizontal with an initial speed of 40km per second. In hoe many seconds will the body reach the ground then how far from the point of projection will it strike. At what angle will the horizontal will strike
Gufraan Reply
Suppose hydrogen and oxygen are diffusing through air. A small amount of each is released simultaneously. How much time passes before the hydrogen is 1.00 s ahead of the oxygen? Such differences in arrival times are used as an analytical tool in gas chromatography.
Ezekiel Reply
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Samuel
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Mobolaji Reply
what is physics
Nangun Reply
the science concerned with describing the interactions of energy, matter, space, and time; it is especially interested in what fundamental mechanisms underlie every phenomenon
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Nangun Reply
nuclei having the same Z and different N s
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Source:  OpenStax, Algebra and trigonometry. OpenStax CNX. Nov 14, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11758/1.6
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