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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 did you get 1640
Noor Reply
If auger is pair are the roots of equation x2+5x-3=0
Peter Reply
Wayne and Dennis like to ride the bike path from Riverside Park to the beach. Dennis’s speed is seven miles per hour faster than Wayne’s speed, so it takes Wayne 2 hours to ride to the beach while it takes Dennis 1.5 hours for the ride. Find the speed of both bikers.
MATTHEW Reply
420
Sharon
from theory: distance [miles] = speed [mph] × time [hours] info #1 speed_Dennis × 1.5 = speed_Wayne × 2 => speed_Wayne = 0.75 × speed_Dennis (i) info #2 speed_Dennis = speed_Wayne + 7 [mph] (ii) use (i) in (ii) => [...] speed_Dennis = 28 mph speed_Wayne = 21 mph
George
Let W be Wayne's speed in miles per hour and D be Dennis's speed in miles per hour. We know that W + 7 = D and W * 2 = D * 1.5. Substituting the first equation into the second: W * 2 = (W + 7) * 1.5 W * 2 = W * 1.5 + 7 * 1.5 0.5 * W = 7 * 1.5 W = 7 * 3 or 21 W is 21 D = W + 7 D = 21 + 7 D = 28
Salma
Devon is 32 32​​ years older than his son, Milan. The sum of both their ages is 54 54​. Using the variables d d​ and m m​ to represent the ages of Devon and Milan, respectively, write a system of equations to describe this situation. Enter the equations below, separated by a comma.
Aaron Reply
find product (-6m+6) ( 3m²+4m-3)
SIMRAN Reply
-42m²+60m-18
Salma
what is the solution
bill
how did you arrive at this answer?
bill
-24m+3+3mÁ^2
Susan
i really want to learn
Amira
I only got 42 the rest i don't know how to solve it. Please i need help from anyone to help me improve my solving mathematics please
Amira
Hw did u arrive to this answer.
Aphelele
hi
Bajemah
-6m(3mA²+4m-3)+6(3mA²+4m-3) =-18m²A²-24m²+18m+18mA²+24m-18 Rearrange like items -18m²A²-24m²+42m+18A²-18
Salma
complete the table of valuesfor each given equatio then graph. 1.x+2y=3
Jovelyn Reply
x=3-2y
Salma
y=x+3/2
Salma
Hi
Enock
given that (7x-5):(2+4x)=8:7find the value of x
Nandala
3x-12y=18
Kelvin
please why isn't that the 0is in ten thousand place
Grace Reply
please why is it that the 0is in the place of ten thousand
Grace
Send the example to me here and let me see
Stephen
A meditation garden is in the shape of a right triangle, with one leg 7 feet. The length of the hypotenuse is one more than the length of one of the other legs. Find the lengths of the hypotenuse and the other leg
Marry Reply
how far
Abubakar
cool u
Enock
state in which quadrant or on which axis each of the following angles given measure. in standard position would lie 89°
Abegail Reply
hello
BenJay
hi
Method
I am eliacin, I need your help in maths
Rood
how can I help
Sir
hmm can we speak here?
Amoon
however, may I ask you some questions about Algarba?
Amoon
hi
Enock
what the last part of the problem mean?
Roger
The Jones family took a 15 mile canoe ride down the Indian River in three hours. After lunch, the return trip back up the river took five hours. Find the rate, in mph, of the canoe in still water and the rate of the current.
cameron Reply
Shakir works at a computer store. His weekly pay will be either a fixed amount, $925, or $500 plus 12% of his total sales. How much should his total sales be for his variable pay option to exceed the fixed amount of $925.
mahnoor Reply
I'm guessing, but it's somewhere around $4335.00 I think
Lewis
12% of sales will need to exceed 925 - 500, or 425 to exceed fixed amount option. What amount of sales does that equal? 425 ÷ (12÷100) = 3541.67. So the answer is sales greater than 3541.67. Check: Sales = 3542 Commission 12%=425.04 Pay = 500 + 425.04 = 925.04. 925.04 > 925.00
Munster
difference between rational and irrational numbers
Arundhati Reply
When traveling to Great Britain, Bethany exchanged $602 US dollars into £515 British pounds. How many pounds did she receive for each US dollar?
Jakoiya Reply
how to reduced echelon form
Solomon Reply
Jazmine trained for 3 hours on Saturday. She ran 8 miles and then biked 24 miles. Her biking speed is 4 mph faster than her running speed. What is her running speed?
Zack Reply
d=r×t the equation would be 8/r+24/r+4=3 worked out
Sheirtina
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Source:  OpenStax, Precalculus. OpenStax CNX. Jan 19, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11667/1.6
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