Lesson Plan

Using Trigonometry to Find Side Lengths of an Acute Triangle

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

Not all triangles are right! Pupils learn to tackle non-right triangles using the Law of Sines and Law of Cosines. After using the two laws, they then apply them to word problems. 

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CCSS: Designed
Additional Tags
Instructional Ideas
  • Use a graphic organizer to record important information and examples
  • For more advanced learners, challenge them to prove the Law of Sines or Cosines; give them a first step and allow them to work from there
Classroom Considerations
  • Pupils may have a hard time understanding formulas, so you can supplement some simple problems until they are comfortable with how the formula works
  • Designed for one class period, but it may need to be extended depending on the level of the class
  • The lesson continues from installment 32 in the 36-part series
Pros
  • Resource spends time developing the formulas instead of just providing the them to pupils
  • Provides scaffolding suggestions to allow for differentiation within classes
Cons
  • None