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Fig. 1 – A triangle. The angles α (or A), β (or B), and γ (or C) are respectively opposite the sides a, b, and c.. In trigonometry, the law of cosines (also known as the cosine formula or cosine rule) relates the lengths of the sides of a triangle to the cosine of one of its angles.
All of the right-angled triangles are similar, i.e. the ratios between their corresponding sides are the same. For sin, cos and tan the unit-length radius forms the hypotenuse of the triangle that defines them. The reciprocal identities arise as ratios of sides in the triangles where this unit line is no longer the hypotenuse.
The oldest and most elementary definitions are based on the geometry of right triangles and the ratio between their sides. The proofs given in this article use these definitions, and thus apply to non-negative angles not greater than a right angle. For greater and negative angles, see Trigonometric functions.
Use Napier's rules to solve the triangle ABD: use c and B to find the sides AD and BD and the angle ∠BAD. Then use Napier's rules to solve the triangle ACD: that is use AD and b to find the side DC and the angles C and ∠DAC. The angle A and side a follow by addition.
With these functions, one can answer virtually all questions about arbitrary triangles by using the law of sines and the law of cosines. [33] These laws can be used to compute the remaining angles and sides of any triangle as soon as two sides and their included angle or two angles and a side or three sides are known.
Solution of triangles (Latin: solutio triangulorum) is the main trigonometric problem of finding the characteristics of a triangle (angles and lengths of sides), when some of these are known. The triangle can be located on a plane or on a sphere. Applications requiring triangle solutions include geodesy, astronomy, construction, and navigation.
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Ptolemy's Theorem yields as a corollary a pretty theorem [2] regarding an equilateral triangle inscribed in a circle. Given An equilateral triangle inscribed on a circle and a point on the circle. The distance from the point to the most distant vertex of the triangle is the sum of the distances from the point to the two nearer vertices.