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🍕 Sector Arc Length and Area Lab

A sector is a circle cut
like a slice of pizza

When you cut a pizza, a larger central angle makes a larger slice (sector). If you know the circumference and area of the whole circle (central angle 360°), the arc length and area of a sector are the corresponding proportion based on its central angle. Change the radius and central angle with the sliders and check it for yourself.

Radius r6
Central angle θ90°
l = 2πr × (θ/360)
S = πr² × (θ/360)
Arc length l
9.42
Sector area S
28.27
The same value is obtained with S = (1/2)rl!

Why do these formulas work? The circumference of a circle with radius r is 2πr, and its area is πr². A central angle of 360° represents the whole circle, so a sector with a central angle of θ° takes up a proportion of (θ/360) of the whole circle. Therefore, both the arc length and the area are found by multiplying the corresponding whole-circle value by (θ/360).

Another area formula: The area of a sector can also be found with S = (1/2) × r × l, using the radius and arc length. This is similar to the triangle area formula (1/2) × base × height because if you divide a sector into very thin pieces and arrange them, the result approaches a triangle with base l and height r.

🍕 Sector Quiz

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