When I first learned the ambiguous case— which is when you’re given a triangle with SSA (Side-Side-Angle)— it was my least favorite lesson of the whole year. This is because you can have one triangle, two triangles, or no triangles, and there’s a lot to memorize. However, a few months later, I learned a different way to solve the ambiguous case and now it’s only slightly worse than other math topics. In this method of solving for the ambiguous case, there is nothing to memorize. I have also included plenty of visuals because I know the ambiguous case can be really hard to visualize. I hope you learned something new today, and thanks for watching Crazy Calculations!
By the time you’re watching this video, you should already know the Law of Sines pretty well. Here’s a link to my Law of Sines video:
https://youtu.be/_P4Qnmn61Qg
Timestamps:
The Ambiguous Case
0:00
What is the Ambiguous Case?
0:22
Why This Happens— Mathematical Explanation
0:35
The Visual Explanation
1:08
2 Triangles Visual Aid
2:10
No Triangles Visual Aid
2:37
1 Triangle Visual Aid
2:50
How to Identify 1,2, or No Triangles
3:44
No Triangles Examples
3:46
1 or 2 Triangles Example
6:43
How to Check for 2 Triangles
7:26
Why It’s the Supplementary Angle
7:39
Back to the Example (1 Triangle)
8:40
2 Triangles Example
9:48
Summary
12:52