Section 6.

2 • Law of Cosines 113

Name______________________________________________
Section 6.2 Law of Cosines

Objective: In this lesson you learned how to use the Law of Cosines to
solve oblique triangles and to use Heron’s Formula to find
the area of a triangle.

I. Introduction (Pages 439−440) What you should learn

How to use the Law of
State the Law of Cosines. Cosines to solve oblique
triangles (SSS or SAS)
If ABC is a triangle with sides a, b, and c, then
a2 = b2 + c2 − 2bc cos A or cos A = (b2 + c2 − a2)/(2bc)
b2 = a2 + c2 − 2ac cos B or cos B = (a2 + c2 − b2)/(2ac)
c2 = a2 + b2 − 2ab cos C or cos C = (a2 + b2 − c2)/(2ab)

Example 1: Using the triangle shown at the right, find angle A. A

78.54° 18 ft
13 ft

C 20 ft B
When given the lengths of all three sides of a triangle and asked
to find all three angles, which angle should be found first? Why?

The largest angle should be found first so you can determine

whether it is acute or obtuse.

A
Example 2: In the triangle shown at the right, if A = 62°, find
the length of side a. 26 ft
19 ft
23.94 feet
C B

II. Applications of the Law of Cosines (Page 441)

What you should learn
Describe a real-life situation in which the Law of Cosines could How to use the Law of
be used. Cosines to model and
solve real-life problems
Answers will vary.

Larson/Hostetler Precalculus/Precalculus with Limits Notetaking Guide IAE

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
114 Chapter 6 • Additional Topics in Trigonometry

III. Heron’s Area Formula (Page 442) What you should learn
How to use Heron’s Area
Heron’s Area Formula states that given any triangle with sides of Formula to find the area
length a, b, and c, the area of the triangle is: of a triangle

Area = s(s − a)(s − b)(s − c)

where s = (a + b + c)/2 .

Example 3: Find the area of a triangle having sides of length

a = 14 cm, b = 21 cm, and c = 27 cm.

145.19 square cm

Additional notes

y y y

x x x

Homework Assignment

Page(s)

Exercises

Larson/Hostetler Precalculus/Precalculus with Limits Notetaking Guide IAE

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.