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Area of a Segment of a Circle

We can use the area of a sector as well as the area of a triangle to find the area of a segment of a circle.

Derivation

Derivation

  • A sector of a circle of radius rr and angle θ\theta has points A and B on the circumference of the circle.
  • AB forms a segment of the circle.
  • The area of the segment is given by:
    • Area of segment = area of sector − area of triangle ABC.
Derivation cont.

Derivation cont.

  • The area of a triangle is equal to 12absinC\frac{1}{2}ab\sin C, which for ABC, is equal to:
    • 12r2sinθ\frac{1}{2}r^2\sin\theta
  • The area of the segment is then equal to:
    • Area of segment = 12r2θ12r2sinθ=12r2(θsinθ)\frac{1}{2}r^2\theta - \frac{1}{2}r^2\sin\theta = \frac{1}{2}r^2(\theta - \sin\theta)
Example

Example

  • What is the area of the shaded segment formed by the line PQPQ?
Area of segment

Area of segment

  • The area of the segment is equal to 12r2(θsinθ)\frac{1}{2}r^2(\theta - \sin\theta).
  • Substituting in, we have:
    • Area of segment = 12×42(π6sinπ6)=12×16×0.0235...\frac{1}{2}\times4^2\left(\frac{\pi}{6}-\sin\frac{\pi}{6}\right) = \frac{1}{2}\times16\times0.0235...
    • Area of segment = 0.19 cm2
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