Find unknown angles of a triangle

In summary: It's not a right-angled triangle. If it were, arctan(1/2) would be 18 degrees but arctan(1/2) is about 27 degrees.
  • #1
tantrik
13
0
Dear friends,

I am unable to find out the unknown angles for the following triangle which I attached with this post.

View attachment 6092

Angle BAD and angle BCD are the unknown angles need to be calculated. Given that lines AB=BC=CD and angle CDE = 108 degrees

From my calculations: angle ADC = 180 - 108 = 72 degrees (angles on a straight line)

angle BAD + angle BCD = 108 degrees (exterior angle of a triangle = sum of interior opposite angles)

I could not proceed any further beyond this. I thought line DB (median) is bisecting angle ADC since line DB is bisecting line AC (AB=BC) but this only happens in case of isosceles and equilateral triangles.

I am very much stuck here and seek your kind suggestions here. I am also suspecting something could be wrong in the diagram of the triangle or may be the unknown angles. Let me know where I am wrong. Thanks in advance.
 

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  • #2
Without a loss of generality, let the equal segments be equal to 1 unit each and then apply the sine law.
 
  • #3
greg1313 said:
Without a loss of generality, let the equal segments be equal to 1 unit each and then apply the sine law.

Thanks but is it possible to solve this question just by using geometry principles?
 
  • #4
Can you post the exact problem statement? (I'm assuming you're giving us your version of it). Where did you get the problem?
 
  • #5
greg1313 said:
Can you post the exact problem statement? (I'm assuming you're giving us your version of it). Where did you get the problem?

No, this exactly how the question (diagram only, no other info about triangles or angles) has been provided by the math teacher in the school.
 
  • #6
Use the fact that, since triangle BCD is an isosceles right triangle, angles BDC and CDB have measure 45 degrees.

The rest is easy.
 
  • #7
HallsofIvy said:
Use the fact that, since triangle BCD is an isosceles right triangle, angles BDC and CDB have measure 45 degrees.

The rest is easy.

It's not a right-angled triangle. If it were, arctan(1/2) would be 18 degrees but arctan(1/2) is about 27 degrees.
 

FAQ: Find unknown angles of a triangle

What is the formula for finding the unknown angle of a triangle?

The formula for finding the unknown angle of a triangle is 180 degrees minus the sum of the other two known angles.

Can you use the Pythagorean Theorem to find unknown angles of a triangle?

No, the Pythagorean Theorem can only be used to find the length of a missing side in a right triangle.

What is the difference between an acute, right, obtuse, and reflex angle?

An acute angle is less than 90 degrees, a right angle is exactly 90 degrees, an obtuse angle is between 90 and 180 degrees, and a reflex angle is greater than 180 degrees.

How many unknown angles can be in a triangle?

There can only be one unknown angle in a triangle, as the sum of all three angles must equal 180 degrees.

Can you use the Law of Sines or Law of Cosines to find unknown angles of a triangle?

Yes, both the Law of Sines and Law of Cosines can be used to find unknown angles of a triangle, but they require at least one known side length to be used.

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