Circle Sector and Segment
SlicesThere are two main "slices" of a circle:
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Try Them!
| Sector | Segment |
|---|---|
Common Sectors
The Quadrant and Semicircle are two special types of Sector:
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Quarter of a circle is called a Quadrant. Half a circle is called a Semicircle. |
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Area of a SectorYou can work out the Area of a Sector by comparing its angle to the angle of a full circle. Note: I am using radians for the angles. |
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This is the reasoning:
Area of Sector = ½ × θ × r2 (when θ is in radians) Area of Sector = ½ × (θ × π/180) × r2 (when θ is in degrees) |
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Arc LengthBy the same reasoning, the arc length (of a Sector or Segment) is: L = θ × r (when θ is in radians) L = (θ × π/180) × r (when θ is in degrees) |
Area of SegmentThe Area of a Segment is the area of a sector minus the triangular piece (shown in light blue here). There is a lengthy reason, but the result is a slight modification of the Sector formula: |
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Area of Segment = ½ × (θ - sin θ) × r2 (when θ is in radians) Area of Segment = ½ × ( (θ × π/180) - sin θ) × r2 (when θ is in degrees) |
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