Law of Sines - Ambiguous Case (SSA) Dynamic Demo

Law of Sines - Ambiguous Case (SSA) Dynamic Demo
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2020-02-02 05:52
This GeoGebra example dynamically demonstrates the ambiguous case of the Law of Sines, where given two sides and a non-included angle (SSA) can yield zero, one, or two possible triangles. The core mathematical concept is the Law of Sines and the conditions for triangle existence and multiplicity. The construction uses a Circle to represent the locus of possible third vertices, Intersect to find candidate points, and Segment, Angle, and Polygon to form the triangles. A Slider controls the given angle or side length, allowing real-time exploration of how the number of solutions changes. Additional tools include Midpoint, OrthogonalLine, Distance, and text objects for labeling and explanation. This resource is ideal for high school or introductory college students learning trigonometry and triangle solving, and serves as an interactive teaching aid for instructors.

GeoGebra Commands & Parameters

  1. Intersect(xAxis, yAxis) → B
  2. Point(xAxis) → B_1
  3. Segment(B, B_1) → f
  4. Segment(C, B) → g
  5. Segment(B, C_1) → h
  6. Angle(C_1, B, C) → mB
  7. Circle(C, b) → c
  8. Point(c) → A
  9. Segment(C, A) → i
  10. Midpoint(B, C) → F
  11. Midpoint(C, A) → G
  12. Angle(A, C, B) → mC
  13. Intersect(c, Ray[B, C_1], 1) → A_2
  14. Intersect(c, Ray[B, C_1], 2) → A_1
  15. Polygon(C, B, A_2) → t2, b_1, A_4, b_3
  16. Polygon(C, A_1, B) → t1, j, d_2, c_1
  17. OrthogonalLine(C, xAxis) → m
  18. Intersect(m, xAxis) → D
  19. Segment(C, D) → height
  20. Angle(C, A_1, B) → ang1
  21. Segment(A_2, C) → p
  22. Angle(C, A_2, B) → ang2