Circular Measure 1

CIRCULAR MEASURE
Radians Measure
r r
To measure angle we have : (i) Degree measure (ii) Radian measure
1 rad
If an arc of a circle is drawn such that it is the same length as the radius, then the angle
created is called one radian as shown in Fig. 1. r
Fig. 1
From the diagram you can see that dividing the circumference by the radius will give the
number of radians in one complete revolution. Therefore, the number of radians in one revolution is

These basic conversions are useful :

A circle contains A semi circle contains A right angle contains

2 radians radians radians

From the above we can derive the formulas of transforming degrees to radians, vice versa, by using
direct proportion as shown below :

From Degree to Radian measure From Radian to Degree measure

Examples :

1. Convert the following angles from degree to radians. Leave your answer in terms of :
(a) 180 (b) 22.50 (c) 360

2. Convert the following angles from radians to degree measure.

(a) rad (b) rad (c) 0.8 rad

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 Circular Measure 2

Length of an Arc
s

r
Length of an Arc, s = r
r

Examples :

1. In each of the following cases, find the length s :

a. b. 2 cm
1.8 rad
o
4 cm 300

2. Figure 1 shows the sector AOB of radius 8 cm and a perimeter of 21 cm. A B

Find the angle AOB in radians.

8 cm 8 cm

Fig. 1 o

3. Figure 2 shows a sector OACB of a circle centre O and radius 5 cm. If the length of the chord AB is 8
cm, find
C
(a) in radians,

(b) The length of the arc ACB. 8 cm

A B

5 cm 5 cm

Fig. 2 o

4. A sector of a circle of radius 4 cm has an angle of 1.2 radians. Find the perimeter of the sector.

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 Circular Measure 3

Exercise 4A : Length of an Arc

Where the answer is not exact, 3 significant figure accuracy is sufficient.

1. In each of the following cases, find the arc length, s.

(a) (b) (c)

1.8 rad
220o
3 cm 1.2 rad
5 cm
4 cm

2. The length of an arc in a circle of radius 5 cm is 6 cm. Find the angle substended at the centre.

3. The angle subtended at the centre of a circle by an arc of length 2 cm is 60o.

4. A sector of a circle has radius r cm and angle radians. Find the value of correct to 3 significant
figures if the perimeter of the sector equals half the circumference of the circle.

5. Figure 2 shows a semicircle of centre O. Given the length of the arc AB is 4 cm and angle BOC is
radians, find
Fig. 2 B
(a) the radius of the circle, cm

rad
(b) the length of the arc BC.
C O A

6. In Figure 3 the chord AC of a circle centre O and radius 10 cm is 14 cm. Find C

(a) the angle subtended at the centre of the circle by the chord.

14 cm
O B
10 cm
(b) the length of the arc ABC.
Fig. 3
A

7. A chord AB is 8 cm long in a circle of radius 5 cm. Calculate

(a) the angle it subtends at the centre of the circle,

(b) the length fo the shorter arc AB.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANSWERS :

(1) (a) 4.8 cm (b) 15.36 cm (c) 25.42 (2) 1.2 rad (3) 6 cm (4) 1.14 rad

(5) (a) 12 cm (b) 8 cm (6) (a) 1.55 rad (b) 15.5 cm (7) (a) 1.85 rad (b) 9.27 cm

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 Circular Measure 4

Area of a Sector of a Circle

In Figure 1, AOB is a sector of angle and radius r. The area of the sector A is
proportional to the angle subtended at the centre of the circle. A
r

i.e.
o
r B
Fig. 1

A=
A= or
=

Example

1. Figure 2 shows a sector of radius 6 cm and AOB = 0.9 rads. Find the area of the sector.

A B

6 cm
0.9 rad

Fig. 2 o
2. In Figure 3, OAB is a sector of a circle O and radius 8 cm. The mid-points of OA and OB are C and D
respectively. CD is a straight line. Given that AOB = 0.6 radians, calculate the area of the shaded
region.

A
C
0.6 rad o

D
B 8 cm

Fig. 3

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 Circular Measure 5

3. In Figure 4, AD and BC are arcs of concentric circles of centre O. The length of the arc AD and BC are
10.5 cm and 16.8 cm respectively, and OD = 5 cm. Calculate the area of the shaded region ABCD.

16.8 cm

10.5 cm

A B
5 cm

o
Fig. 4

4. The diagram shows a semicircle OABC of centre O and radius 5 cm. BN is perpendicular to OA.
Given that the length of arc AB is 6 cm, find
B
a) Angle AOB in radians,
6 cm 6 cm
b) The area of the shaded region,

c) Express the area of the shaded region as a percentage of the area C O N A

of the semicircle.

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 Circular Measure 6

Exercise 4B : Area of Sector of Circles

1. In each of the following cases, find the area of the sector :

(a) (b) (c)

o rad
300
1.6 rad
4 cm 5 cm
5 cm
o

2. The area of a sector of a circle is 9 cm2. If the radius is 6 cm, find the angle of the sector.

3. A sector of a circle has an angle of 2.25 rad and an area of 112.5 cm2. Find the radius of the circle.

4. The area of a sector of a circle is 15 cm2 and the length of its arc is 3 cm.

Calculate

(a) The radius of the sector,

(b) The angle of the sector.

5. The perimeter of a sector is 128 cm and its area is 960 cm 2. Find the possible values of the radius of
the sector and its angle.

6. The diagram shows a sector OAB of a circle centre O and radius 10 cm. BN is perpendicular to OA.

Given that BN = 8 cm, calculate

A
(a) Angle BON in radians
(b) The area of the shaded region. 10 cm
8 cm

o N B

7. In figure below , DOBC is a semicircle, centre O and radius 6 cm. CA is perpendicular to DOB where
AB is 2 cm. Calculate C

(a) the length of CA

(b) COA in radians, and
D 6 O A 2 B
(c) the perimeter of the shaded region.
(d) express the area of the shaded region as a percentage of the area of the semicircle.

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