A real estate agent wants to find the area of a triangular lot. A surveyor takes measurements and finds that two sides are 52.1 m and 21.3 m, and the angle between them is 42.2°. What is the area of the triangular lot?
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Identify the given information: two sides of the triangle, \(a = 52.1\) m and \(b = 21.3\) m, and the included angle between them, \(\theta = 42.2^\circ\).
Recall the formula for the area of a triangle when two sides and the included angle are known: \(\text{Area} = \frac{1}{2} \times a \times b \times \sin(\theta)\).
Substitute the known values into the formula: \(\text{Area} = \frac{1}{2} \times 52.1 \times 21.3 \times \sin(42.2^\circ)\).
Calculate \(\sin(42.2^\circ)\) using a calculator or trigonometric tables, making sure your calculator is set to degrees.
Multiply the values together to find the area: first multiply the two sides, then multiply by the sine of the angle, and finally multiply by \(\frac{1}{2}\).
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Triangle Area Using Two Sides and Included Angle
The area of a triangle can be calculated using the formula: (1/2) × side1 × side2 × sin(included angle). This method is useful when two sides and the angle between them are known, allowing direct computation without needing the height.
The sine function relates an angle in a right triangle to the ratio of the length of the opposite side over the hypotenuse. In this context, sine of the included angle helps determine the height component needed to find the area of the triangle.
Angles can be measured in degrees or radians; here, the angle is given in degrees (42.2°). Understanding how to use degree measures in trigonometric functions is essential for correctly applying formulas and obtaining accurate results.