A sector of a circle -StudySmarter Originals
An arc length is a part of the circle's circumference (perimeter). For the same sector, we could have arc as shown in green:
Arc length of a circle - StudySmarter Originals
Circle sector theorems where the angle is in degrees
You might already be familiar with this but let's look at calculating the area and arc length of a circle sector when the angle is given in degrees.
Calculating the area of a sector of a circle
The formula to calculate the area of a sector with an angle \(\theta\) is:
\(\text{Area of a sector} = \pi \cdot r^2 \cdot \frac{\theta}{360}\)
where r is the radius of the circle
Circle A has a diameter of 10cm. A sector of circle A an angle of 50. What is the area of this sector?
- First, we need to calculate the radius of the circle. This is because the formula for the area of a sector uses this value rather than the diameter.
\(\text{diameter = radius} \cdot 2\)
\(\text{radius} = \frac{\text{diameter}}{2} = \frac{10}{2} = 5 \space cm\)
- Then, substitute your values into the area of a sector formula.
\(\text{Area of a sector} = \pi \cdot r^2 \cdot \frac{50}{360} = 10.9 cm^2 (3 \space s.f.)\)
Calculating the arc length of a sector of a circle
The formula to calculate the arc length of a sector with an angle \(\theta\) is:
\(\text{Arc Length of a sector}: \pi \cdot d \cdot \frac{\theta}{360}\) where d is the diameter of the circle:
Circle B has a radius of 12cm. A sector within Circle B has an angle of 100. What is the length of the arc length of this sector?
- First, the formula for the arc length of a sector requires the diameter of the circle rather than the radius.
\(\text{Diameter} = r \cdot 2 = 2 \cdot 12 = 24 cm\)
- Then, you can substitute your values from the question into the formula
\(\text{Arc length of a sector} = \pi \cdot 24 \cdot \frac{100}{360} = 20.9 cm^2 \space (3 s.f.)\)
Calculating the area of a sector of a circle
To calculate the area of a sector of a circle with an angle \(\theta^r\), the formula you use is:
\(\text{Area of a sector} = \frac{1}{2} \cdot r^2 \cdot \theta\)
where r is the radius of the circle.
Circle C has a radius of 15cm. Within Circle C, there is a sector with an angle of 0.5 radians. What is the area of this sector?
- As all the variables are in the form required in the formula, you can substitute their values into the formula.
\(\text{Area of a sector} = \frac{ 1}{2} \cdot 15^2 \cdot 0.5 = 56.3 cm^2 \space (3 s.f.)\)
Calculating the arc length of a sector of a circle
To calculate the arc length of a sector of a circle with an angle \(\theta^r\), the formula you use is:
\(\text{Arc length of a sector} = r \cdot \theta\), where r is the radius of the circle.
A sector in Circle D has an angle of 1.2 radians. Circle D has a diameter of 19. What is the arc length of this sector?
- The formula requires the radius rather than the diameter.
\(\text{Diameter = Radius} \cdot 2\text{ Radius} = \frac{\text{Diameter}}{2} = \frac{19}{2} = 9.5\)
- You can then substitute these values into the formula \(\text{Arc length of a sector} = 9.5 \cdot 1.2 = 11.4 \space cm\)
Sector of a Circle - Key takeaways
- A sector of a circle is the proportion of a circle where two of the sides are radii. An arc length of the sector is the proportion of the circumference which runs the length of the sector of the circle.
- If the angle at the centre of the circle is in degrees, the formula for finding the area of the sector is: \(\text{Area of a sector} = \pi \cdot r^2 \cdot \frac{\theta}{360}\). To calculate the arc length, the formula is:
\(\text{Arc Length of a sector} = \pi \cdot d \cdot \frac{\theta}{360}\)
- If the angle of the circle is in radians, the formula for finding the area of the sector is: \(\text{Area of a sector} = \frac{1}{2} \cdot r^2 \cdot \theta\). For calculating the arc length of the sector, the formula is \(\text{Arc length} = r \cdot \theta\)