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CIE IGCSE Maths: Extended Your notes

3.6 Circles, Arcs & Sectors

Contents
3.6.1 Area & Circumference of Circles
3.6.2 Arcs & Sectors

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3.6.1 Area & Circumference of Circles

Your notes
Area & Circumference
Why are circles different to other 2D shapes?
Circles are a shape that is made up of all the points on a 2D plane that are equidistant from a single
point
Equidistant means the same distance
The circumference of a circle is its perimeter
π (pi) is the number (3.14159 …) that links a circle’s diameter to its circumference
You may be asked to give an area answer to a certain number of decimal places or significant figures
Alternatively you may be asked to give the exact value – or “give your answer in terms of π”
How do I work with circles?
You must know the formulae for the area and circumference of a circle
There are two versions for the circumference and it is important not to get the radius and diameter
confused
Remember that d = 2r
But you may prefer to remember the formulae by having different letters involved

Working with circle formulae is just like working with any other formula:
WRITE DOWN – what you know (what you want to know)
Pick correct FORMULA
SUBSTITUTE and SOLVE

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Exam Tip
Your notes
If you’re under pressure and can’t remember which formula is which, remember that area is always
measured in square units (cm2, m2 etc.) so the formula with r2 in it is the one for area
The circumference is just a length, so its units will be the same as for length (cm, m, etc)

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Worked example
Your notes
Find the area and perimeter of the semicircle shown in the diagram.

Give your answers in terms of π .

The area of a semicircle is half the area of the full circle with the same diameter, so begin by finding the
area of the full circle.
Find the radius by dividing the diameter by 2.

Substitute this into the formula for the area of a circle .

Leave your answer in terms of . (This just means do not multiply by ).

Find the area of the semicircle by dividing the full area by 2.

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Area = 32π cm2

The perimeter of the semicircle is made up of both the arc of the circle (half of the circumference) and Your notes
the diameter of the semicircle.

Find the full length of the circumference of the circle using the formula (or ).
Substitute the radius = 8 cm into the formula.
Again, leave your answer in terms of .

Find the length of the arc (the curved part of the perimeter of the semicircle) by dividing the full area by
2.

Find the full perimeter by adding this to the length of the diameter of the circle.
Perimeter = 8π + 16 cm

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3.6.2 Arcs & Sectors

Your notes
Arc Lengths & Sector Areas
What is an arc?
An arc is a part of the circumference of a circle
Two points on a circumference of a circle will create two arcs
The smaller arc is known as the minor arc
The bigger arc is known as the major arc
What is a sector?
In technical terms, a sector is the part of a circle enclosed by two radii (radiuses) and an arc
It’s much easier to think of a sector as the shape of a slice of a circular pizza (or cake, or pie, or …) and an
arc as the curvy bit at the end of it (where the crust is)
Two radii in a circle will create two sectors
The smaller sector is known as the minor sector
The bigger sector is known as the major sector
If the angle of the slice is θ (the Greek letter “theta”) then the formulae for the area of a sector and the
length of an arc are just fractions of the area and circumference of a circle:
Remember that a full circle is equal to 360° so the fraction will be the angle, out of 360

If you are not too good at remembering formulae there is a logic to these two
You’ll need to remember the circumference and area formulas

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After that we are just finding a fraction of the whole circle – “θ out of 360”
Working with sector and arc formulae is just like working with any other formula
WRITE DOWN – what you know (what you want to know) Your notes
Pick correct FORMULA
SUBSTITUTE and SOLVE

Exam Tip
If you’re under pressure and can’t remember which formula is which, remember that area is always
measured in square units (cm2, m2 etc.) so the formula with r2 in it is the one for area
The length of an arc is just a length, so its units will be the same as for length (cm, m, etc)

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Worked example
Your notes
AOB is a sector of a circle with angle 42°, as shown.

The area of the sector AOB is 28 cm2.

(a) Find the radius of the circle, giving your answer correct to 2 decimal places.

We know the area and the angle and want to find the radius so we will need to substitute the
information into the formula for the area of a sector and solve to find the radius.

Substitute A = 28 and θ = 42° into the formula for the area of a sector, .

Simplify.

Rearrange to find .

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Your notes

Round to 2 decimal places.

The second decimal place has the value 4 and the third decimal place is a 0, which is less than 5
so do not change the value of the second decimal place.

(b) Find the length of the arc AB, giving your answer correct to the nearest whole number.

We know the radius and the angle so we can substitute the information into the formula for the
length of an arc.

Substitute r = 8.7403... and θ = 42° into the formula for the length of an arc, .

Use your calculator to find the answer, type the radius in carefully or use the memory function
on your calculator.

Round to the nearest whole number.

The units place has the value 6 and the first decimal place is a 4, which is less than 5 so do not
change the value of the units.

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