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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.
In optics, Lambert's cosine law says that the observed radiant intensity or luminous intensity from an ideal diffusely reflecting surface or ideal diffuse radiator is directly proportional to the cosine of the angle θ between the observer's line of sight and the surface normal; I = I 0 cos θ.
A formula for computing the trigonometric identities for the one-third angle exists, but it requires finding the zeroes of the cubic equation 4x 3 − 3x + d = 0, where is the value of the cosine function at the one-third angle and d is the known value of the cosine function at the full angle.
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.
If the law of cosines is used to solve for c, the necessity of inverting the cosine magnifies rounding errors when c is small. In this case, the alternative formulation of the law of haversines is preferable. [3] A variation on the law of cosines, the second spherical law of cosines, [4] (also called the cosine rule for angles [1]) states:
This formula is the law of cosines, sometimes called the generalized Pythagorean theorem. [37] From this result, for the case where the radii to the two locations are at right angles, the enclosed angle Δ θ = π /2, and the form corresponding to Pythagoras' theorem is regained: s 2 = r 1 2 + r 2 2 . {\displaystyle s^{2}=r_{1}^{2}+r_{2}^{2}.}
The 12 face angles - there are three of them for each of the four faces of the tetrahedron. The 6 dihedral angles - associated to the six edges of the tetrahedron, since any two faces of the tetrahedron are connected by an edge. The 4 solid angles - associated to each point of the tetrahedron.
For example, the sine of angle θ is defined as being the length of the opposite side divided by the length of the hypotenuse. The six trigonometric functions are defined for every real number, except, for some of them, for angles that differ from 0 by a multiple of the right angle (90°). Referring to the diagram at the right, the six ...