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c++mathtrigonometryangle

Calculating angle between a line and a point in 3D

I'm working on a problem in c++ where I need to determine the angle between a line represented as 2 points in 3d (etc, x.y.z coordinates) and a disconnected point. Here are some pictures that might be easier to understand.

This is in 2D to display it easier

So what I need help with is finding this angle

With angle

I've been searching for several hours to solve this now, and I suspect that I've just missed something obvious. But if anyone can help me with this I will be very greatful:)

Solution

  • let say you have A(x1,y1,z1) B(x2,y2,z2) C(x3,y3,z3) and the common point is B. So the equation of the line AB becomes : (x1-x2)i + (y1-y2)j + (z1-z2)k and that for BC it is : (x2-x3)i + (y2-y3)j + (z2-z3)k

    Cos theta = (AB.BC)/(|AB|*|BC|)

    Here is the code

    #include<iostream>
#include<math.h>
#define PI 3.14159265
using namespace std; 
int main()
{
    int x1,x2,x3,y1,y2,y3,z1,z2,z3;
    cout<<"for the first\n";
    cin>>x1>>y1>>z1;
    cout<<"\nfor the second\n";
    cin>>x2>>y2>>z2;
    cout<<"\nfor the third\n";
    cin>>x3>>y3>>z3;
    float dot_product = (x1-x2)*(x2-x3) + (y1-y2)*(y2-y3)+ (z1-z2)*(z2-z3);
    float mod_denom1 = sqrt((x1-x2)*(x1-x2) + (y1-y2)*(y1-y2) + (z1-z2)*(z1-z2));
    float mod_denom2 = sqrt((x2-x3)*(x2-x3) + (y2-y3)*(y2-y3) + (z2-z3)*(z2-z3));
    float cosnum = (dot_product/((mod_denom1)*(mod_denom2)));
    float cos = acos(cosnum)*180/PI;
    cout<< cos;
}