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D. The Pythagorean Theorem

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Q: What does the law of cosines reduce to when dealing with a right triangle?
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When you have a right angle what does the law of cosines reduce to?

cosine = adjacent/hypotenuse


When would you use the law of sines or law of cosines instead of a trigonometric ratio?

Trigonometric ratios, by themselves, can only be used for right angled triangles. The law of cosines or the sine law can be used for any triangle.


How do you find a side of a triangle?

If it's a right triangle, use pythagorean's theorem (a2+b2=c2) to solve it. = If it's an oblique triangle, use the law of sines or cosines (see related link)


Altitude of right triangle with only one side known?

Law of sines or cosines SinA/a=SinB/b=SinC/c


Can trig functions work on non-right triangles?

Yes. Look up the law of sines and the law of cosines as examples. there are also formulas that can find out the area of a non-right triangle.


What situation would you be FORCED to use law of cosines as opposed to law of sines?

When none of the angles are known, and using Pythagoras, the triangle is known not to be right angled.


How do you find a missing side of a triangle without a right angle?

Having sufficient angles or sides one can use either, The Law of Sines, or, The Law of Cosines. Google them.


Can the law of cosines be applied to right and non-right triangles?

Yes


What is the formula for the third side of a triangle?

a2+b2=c2, but that only works for right triangles, where c is opposite the right angle. The law of cosines, see Related Link below, will help for non right triangles, but you need to know one of the angles.


Law of cosines with a right angle?

The law of cosines with a right angle is just the pythagorean theorem. The cosine of 90 degrees is 0. That is why the hypotenuse squared is equal to the sum of both of the legs squared


How do you find the length of one side if you have the others on a triangle?

If the triangle is a right triangle, where one angle is equal to 90o, Then you can use the Pythagorean Theorem. To use this, label each side of the right triangle a, b, and c, in which c is the hypotenuse/longest side/side opposite of the 90o angle; a2+b2=c2 . Just input the values into this equation and you are able to get one side as long as you know the other two. If the triangle is not a right triangle, then you would need to know an angle of one of the sides already known in order to use the law of cosines.


Is it true that the law of cosines reduces the Pythagorean theorem with right triangles?

Yes