Circle Terms

Terms that apply to circles include the center, radius, diameter, secant, and tangent

II. TERMS USED IN DESCRIBING CIRCLES

Any line that touches the circumference of a circle at one point, and one point only, is called a
tangent. The line is said to be tangent to the circle at the point it touches. Any line that cuts through
a circle, intersecting it at two points, is called a secant. The part of a secant within a circle is called a
chord. If a chord passes through the center of a circle, it is called a diameter. The diameter is the
longest possible chord for any given circle. Half a diameter, or the distance from the center of a
circle to its edge, is a radius. The term radius can be used to indicate the distance, rather than an
actual line, from the center to the circumference. Similarly the term diameter can be used to
indicate the maximum width of a circle.

An arc of a circle is a portion lying between two points on the circle. A central angle is an angle with
the vertex at the center of the circle and with sides forming radii of the circle. Concentric circles are
circles that have the same center but different diameters.

III. CIRCUMFERENCE AND AREA

The circumference—distance around the edge—of a circle is equal to a constant, pi (symbol p), times
the circle’s diameter: C = pd. Since the diameter of a circle is equal to twice the circle’s radius, the
circumference also equals two times pi times the radius: C = 2pr. Pi is one of the most important
mathematical constants, and plays a role in many calculations and proofs in mathematics, physics,
engineering, and other sciences. The first ten digits of pi are 3.141592654, although the
approximations 3.14 or 3‡ are sufficiently accurate for many calculations.

Of all two-dimensional figures having the same perimeter, the circle has the greatest area. The area
of a circle is equal to pi multiplied by the square of the circle’s radius: A = pr2