Activities

Trigonometry - cosine rule


Consider triangles in which two sides and the included angle are known.

The cosine rule is an extension of Pythagoras' Theorem to triangles that are not right angled.
 

The length of the third side of the triangle can be found.




The rule can be rearranged in a form suitable for calculating an angle when the three sides are known.

Notes and problems
 
Always draw accurate sketches of a problem.