- How do I solve a right triangle?
- If you know the two legs, use SSS after computing the hypotenuse with the Pythagorean theorem c = √(a² + b²), or use SAS with the included 90° angle. If you know one leg and the hypotenuse, use SSS or the Pythagorean theorem to get the other leg. The calculator handles right triangles just like any other — it also labels them 'Right' in the classification chip when one angle is exactly 90°.
- What is the triangle inequality?
- The sum of any two sides must be greater than the third (a + b > c, a + c > b, b + c > a). If your three sides violate this — for example 1, 2, 3 or 1, 2, 10 — no triangle exists, and the calculator returns 'Triangle inequality violated' instead of producing nonsensical angles.
- How does the calculator find angles from three sides?
- It uses the Law of Cosines: A = arccos((b² + c² − a²)/(2bc)). This is more numerically stable than the Law of Sines for SSS because it avoids the ambiguous 'SSA' case. The third angle is always 180° minus the other two, guaranteeing they sum to exactly 180°.
- Does the calculator work in degrees or radians?
- All angles are entered and displayed in degrees — the most natural unit for geometry and trigonometry homework. Internally, the conversion is handled by the standard π/180 factor; you do not need to switch modes.
- What is Heron's formula for the area?
- Given sides a, b, c, first compute the semiperimeter s = (a + b + c)/2, then the area is √(s(s − a)(s − b)(s − c)). For the 3-4-5 triangle: s = 6, so area = √(6·3·2·1) = √36 = 6. The calculator guards against tiny floating-point negative values inside the sqrt with Math.max(0, …).