AAA Triangle Calculator
This calculator solves a triangle when you know all three interior angles (Angle-Angle-Angle, or AAA) and, optionally, the length of one side. Three angles alone fix a triangle's shape but not its size, so you enter Angle A, Angle B and Angle C in degrees (they must sum to exactly 180 degrees), then choose which side is known, side a, b or c, and its length, or leave it as ratios only if no side measurement is available. Using the Law of Sines (a/sin A = b/sin B = c/sin C), the calculator works out the two remaining side lengths, then returns the triangle type (acute, right or obtuse, and equilateral, isosceles or scalene), the area, perimeter and circumradius as headline results, plus a detailed breakdown of all three side lengths, the side ratio, the height to each side, the inradius and a check on the angle sum. A plain-language summary underneath describes the shape and dimensions. Use it to check homework, verify a set of surveying or triangulation angles, or see how a triangle's dimensions change as you adjust its angles or known side. Without a side length you still get the triangle's classification and the ratio between its sides, since AAA fixes the shape but never the size. Results are exact for flat Euclidean triangles and are rounded to two decimal places for display.
1. Three Angles
2. Known Side (Optional)
Side Lengths
Other Properties
What is AAA in Triangle Geometry?
AAA stands for Angle-Angle-Angle, the case where all three interior angles of a triangle are known. The angles of any triangle always sum to exactly 180°, so knowing two angles is enough to determine the third: C = 180° - A - B.
The key limitation of AAA is that it does not uniquely determine the size of the triangle. It only determines the shape. All triangles with the same three angle measures are similar (proportional) to each other. To find actual side lengths, area, and perimeter, you need at least one side length in addition to the three angles.
Law of Sines
Once one side is known, the Law of Sines relates all three sides to their opposite angles:
a / sin(A) = b / sin(B) = c / sin(C) = 2R
where R is the radius of the circumscribed circle (the circle that passes through all three vertices). From the known side, you calculate 2R, then find the other sides by multiplying 2R by the sine of the opposite angle. For example, if side a is known:
- 2R = a / sin(A)
- b = 2R × sin(B)
- c = 2R × sin(C)
Area from Two Sides and Included Angle
Once all three sides are known, the area can be calculated using any two sides and their included angle:
Area = (1/2) × a × b × sin(C)
Equivalently, Area = (1/2) × b × c × sin(A) = (1/2) × a × c × sin(B). All three give the same result.
Triangle Classification
| Classification | Condition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Acute | All angles less than 90° | 60°, 70°, 50° |
| Right | One angle equals exactly 90° | 90°, 45°, 45° |
| Obtuse | One angle greater than 90° | 120°, 40°, 20° |
| Equilateral | All three angles equal 60° | 60°, 60°, 60° |
| Isosceles | Exactly two angles are equal | 70°, 70°, 40° |
| Scalene | All three angles are different | 50°, 60°, 70° |
Worked Example
Default inputs: A = 60°, B = 60°, C = 60°, side a = 10 units.
- Check: 60 + 60 + 60 = 180°. Valid.
- Law of Sines: 2R = a / sin(A) = 10 / sin(60°) = 10 / 0.8660 = 11.547 units.
- Side b = 2R × sin(B) = 11.547 × sin(60°) = 11.547 × 0.8660 = 10.00 units.
- Side c = 2R × sin(C) = 11.547 × sin(60°) = 10.00 units.
- Perimeter = 10 + 10 + 10 = 30.00 units.
- Area = (1/2) × a × b × sin(C) = 0.5 × 10 × 10 × sin(60°) = 0.5 × 10 × 10 × 0.8660 = 43.30 sq units.
- Height h_a = 2 × Area / a = 2 × 43.30 / 10 = 8.66 units.
- Circumradius R = a / (2 × sin(A)) = 10 / (2 × 0.8660) = 5.77 units.
- Inradius r = Area / s, where s = perimeter / 2 = 15. r = 43.30 / 15 = 2.89 units.
This matches the default output shown in the calculator above.
Related Calculators
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- Triangle Calculator (general): solve any triangle with any mix of sides and angles.
- Area of a Triangle (Heron's Formula): calculate area from all three side lengths.
- SOHCAHTOA Solver: find missing sides and angles in right-angled triangles.
- Right Angle Triangle Calculator: Pythagoras and trigonometry for right triangles.
Sources and method: Law of Sines (Trigonometry, standard curriculum). Area formula: (1/2)ab sin C. Inradius: r = Area / s where s is the semi-perimeter. Circumradius: R = a / (2 sin A). Triangle classification follows standard Euclidean geometry definitions.
This calculator provides exact results for Euclidean (flat) triangles. All angles must be strictly between 0° and 180° and must sum to exactly 180°. Results are rounded to two decimal places for display. The area and side results require at least one known side length; without a side, only shape classification and side ratios are available.