What is the formula for finding the area of a sector in a circle?

In summary, the formula to find the area of a sector in a circle is A = (πr^2θ)/360, where θ is the central angle in degrees. If θ is in radians, the formula becomes A = (r^2θ)/2. The sector area is simply a fraction of the total area of the circle.
  • #1
LocationX
147
0
what is the formula to find a sector in a circle?

so I'm given the radius and the arc of angle 60 degrees. To find the area in that arc, the forumla is something along the lines of:

[tex]A=\frac{r^2}{2} * arc[/tex] so...
[tex]A=\frac{r^2}{2} * \frac{\pi}{3}[/tex]

is this right?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
The area of a circle is pi r^2, yes? So if you have, say, 30 degrees of central angle, the area will be 30/360 of the area of the total circle. In that case, you'd take (30/360) * pi * r^2.

The sector is just a fraction of the circle, so use a fraction of the area formula.
 
  • #3
Well, if you're given the radius and the central angle, then the sector area is just:
~in degrees,

[tex] A = \frac{{\pi r^2 \theta}}{{360^\circ }} [/tex]
------------------------------
~but if [tex] \theta [/tex] is in radians, then

[tex] A = \frac{{r^2 \theta }}{2} [/tex]
 
  • #4
what if the arc was in radians? then would there be pi^2?
 
  • #5
oh okay bomba, that's what I thought. thanks all
 

1. What is a circle and its arc?

A circle is a shape with all points equidistant from its center. The arc of a circle is a portion of the circumference, or the curved boundary of the circle.

2. How is the length of an arc calculated?

The length of an arc is calculated by multiplying the measure of the angle in radians by the radius of the circle.

3. What is the relationship between the length of an arc and the circumference of a circle?

The length of an arc is directly proportional to the circumference of the circle. This means that as the circumference increases, the length of the arc also increases.

4. How do you find the central angle of an arc?

The central angle of an arc can be found by dividing the arc length by the radius of the circle and converting it to degrees.

5. Can you find the length of an arc without knowing the central angle?

Yes, the length of an arc can also be calculated by knowing the radius and the arc's chord length. The formula is: arc length = 2 x radius x sin (angle/2).

Similar threads

  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
3
Views
827
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
9
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
5
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
5
Views
1K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
22
Views
2K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
5K
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
2
Views
293
  • Introductory Physics Homework Help
Replies
1
Views
195
Back
Top