A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane which are

equidistant from a given point, the centre.

Circles are simple closed curves which divide the plane into two regions: an interior and an exterior. In
everyday use, the term "circle" may be used interchangeably to refer to either the boundary of the figure,
or to the whole figure including its interior; in strict technical usage, the circle is the former and the latter
is called a disk.

A circle is a special ellipse in which the two foci are coincident and the eccentricity is 0. Circles are conic
sections attained when a right circular cone is intersected by a plane perpendicular to the axis of the cone.

Terminology

A circle's diameter is the length of a line segment whose endpoints lie on the circle and which passes
through the centre. This is the largest distance between any two points on the circle. The diameter of a
circle is twice the radius, or distance from the centre to the circle's boundary (circumference). The terms
"diameter" and "radius" also refer to the line segments which fit these descriptions.

A chord is a line segment whose endpoints lie on the circle. A diameter is the longest chord in a circle. A
tangent to a circle is a straight line that touches the circle at a single point, while a secant is an extended
chord: a straight line cutting the circle at two points.

An arc of a circle is any connected part of the circle's circumference. A sector is a region bounded by two
radii and an arc lying between the radii, and a segment is a region bounded by a chord and an arc lying
between the chord's endpoints.

History

The word "circle" derives from

the Greek, kirkos "a circle," from
the base ker- which means to turn
or bend. The origin of the word
"circus" is closely related.

The circle has been known since

Chord, secant, tangent, and before the beginning of recorded
Arc, sector, and segment history. Natural circles would
diameter.
have been observed, such as the
Moon, Sun, and a short plant stalk blowing in the wind on sand, which forms a circle shape in the sand.
The circle is the basis for the wheel, which, with related inventions such as gears, makes much of modern
civilization possible. In mathematics, the study of the circle has helped inspire the development of
geometry, astronomy, and calculus.

Definition: A circle is the locus of all points equidistant from a central point.
Definitions Related to Circles

arc: a curved line that is part of the circumference of a circle

chord: a line segment within a circle that touches 2 points on the circle.
circumference: the distance around the circle.
diameter: the longest distance from one end of a circle to the other.
origin: the center of the circle
pi ( ): A number, 3.141592..., equal to (the circumference) / (the diameter) of any circle.
radius: distance from center of circle to any point on it.
sector: is like a slice of pie (a circle wedge).
tangent of circle: a line perpendicular to the radius that touches ONLY one point on the circle.
diameter = 2 x radius of circle

Circle

A circle is easy to make:

Draw a curve that is "radius" away

from a central point.

And so:

All points are the same distance from the center.

You Can Draw It Yourself

Put a pin in a board, put a loop of string around it, and insert a pencil into
the loop. Keep the string stretched and draw the circle!

Also, the circle is a plane shape (two dimensional).

Definition

In fact the definition of a circle is:

The set of all points on a plane that are a fixed distance from a center.
Radius and Diameter

The Radius is the distance from the center to the edge.

The Diameter starts at one side of the circle, goes through the
center and ends on the other side.

So the Diameter is twice the Radius:

Diameter = 2 × Radius

Circumference

The Circumference is the distance around the edge of the circle.

It is exactly Pi (the symbol is π) times the Diameter, so:

Circumference = π × Diameter

And so these are also true:

Circumference = 2 × π × Radius

Circumference / Diameter = π

Area

The area of a circle is π times the Radius

squared, which is written:

A = π × r2

Or, in terms of the Diameter:

A = (π/4) × D2

It is easy to remember if you think of the

area of the square that the circle would fit
inside.

Names
Because people have studied circles for thousands of years special names have come about.

Nobody wants to say "that line that starts at one side of the circle, goes through the center and ends on
the other side" when a word like "Diameter" would do.

So here are the most common special names:

Lines

A line that goes from one point to another on the circle's

circumference is called a Chord.

If that line passes through the center it is called a

Diameter.

If a line "just touches" the circle as it passes it is called a

Tangent.

And a part of the circumference is called an Arc.

Slices

There are two main "slices" of a circle

The "pizza" slice is called a Sector.

And the slice made by a chord is called a Segment.

Common Sectors

The Quadrant and Semicircle are two special types of Sector:

Quarter of a circle is called a Quadrant.

Half a circle is called a Semicircle.