Articles containing proofs | Theorems about triangles | Angle | Trigonometry
Law of cosines
In trigonometry, the law of cosines (also known as the cosine formula, cosine rule, or al-Kashi's theorem) relates the lengths of the sides of a triangle to the cosine of one of its angles. Using notation as in Fig. 1, the law of cosines states where γ denotes the angle contained between sides of lengths a and b and opposite the side of length c. For the same figure, the other two relations are analogous: The law of cosines generalizes the Pythagorean theorem, which holds only for right triangles: if the angle γ is a right angle (of measure 90 degrees, or π/2 radians), then cos γ = 0, and thus the law of cosines reduces to the Pythagorean theorem: The law of cosines is useful for computing the third side of a triangle when two sides and their enclosed angle are known. (Wikipedia).
