Understanding The (Ambiguous) SSA Triangle Experiment
- Author:
- Shaffiq Welji
- Topic:
- Trigonometry
To help you visualize the SSA (side-side-angle) triangle, consider the diagram shown below. There is no SSA congruence theorem for triangles because the number of triangles can change, depending on the relationship between the sides and angles provided, which is why it is called the Ambiguous case. There can be 0 triangles if the opposite side is too small. There can be 1 right triangle if the opposite side is equal to the height (Question: How do you calculate the height?). It can have 2 triangles if the opposite side is larger than the height. And, if the opposite side is too big (that is, bigger than or equal to the adjacent side), it will have only one triangle.
Note: Hint to the question asked above: "How do you calculate the height?" The height can be calculated using the right triangle GAC.