10.10. Area of a Circle http://www.ck12.org
Example B
If the area of a circle is 20π, what is the radius?
Work backwards on this problem. Plug in the area and solve for the radius.
20 π=πr^2
20 =r^2
r=
√
20 = 2
√
5
Just like the circumference, we will leave our answers in terms ofπ, unless otherwise specified. In Example 2, the
radius could be± 2
√
5, however the radius is always positive, so we do not need the negative answer.
Example C
A circle is inscribed in a square. Each side of the square is 10 cm long. What is the area of the circle?
The diameter of the circle is the same as the length of a side of the square. Therefore, the radius is half the length of
the side, or 5 cm.
A=π 52 = 25 πcm
Watch this video for help with the Examples above.
MEDIA
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CK-12 Foundation: Chapter10AreaofaCircleB
Concept Problem Revisited
A circle with a radius of 5 inches has areaπ 52 = 25 πin^2.
Vocabulary
Acircleis the set of all points that are the same distance away from a specific point, called thecenter. Aradiusis
the distance from the center to the outer rim of the circle. Achordis a line segment whose endpoints are on a circle.
Adiameteris a chord that passes through the center of the circle. The length of a diameter is two times the length
of a radius.Areais the amount of space inside a figure and is measured in square units.π, or“pi”is the ratio of the
circumference of a circle to its diameter.
Guided Practice
- Find the area of the shaded region from Example C.