Question 181·200 Super-Hard SAT Math Questions·Geometry and Trigonometry
In a circle with center and radius , chord has length . Which choice gives the area, in square units, of the region inside the circle that is bounded by chord and the minor arc ?
For a chord-and-arc area problem, recognize the requested region as a circular segment and use sector area minus triangle area. Draw a perpendicular from the center to the chord: it bisects the chord and creates special right triangles that reveal the central angle and the triangle height. Then compute the sector area and subtract .
Hints
Draw a perpendicular to the chord
Draw so that is the midpoint of and . This creates two congruent right triangles.
Recognize the special triangle
Use half the chord length and the radius to identify the side lengths of right triangle . Its side lengths fit a special right-triangle ratio.
Find a circular segment area
The desired region is not the full sector. Find the sector area for the minor central angle, then subtract the area of triangle .
Desmos Guide
Use geometry to determine the angle
First use the chord and radius to determine manually that the minor central angle is . Desmos is most useful here for checking the final arithmetic rather than replacing the geometry.
Enter the segment-area calculation
In a Desmos expression line, enter
This evaluates the sector area minus the triangle area.
Compare with the choices
Compare the exact expression or its decimal value with the answer choices. The matching choice uses the sector and subtracts the triangle area once.
Step-by-step Explanation
Find the central angle
Let be the midpoint of chord . Since is perpendicular to the chord, it bisects the chord, so
In right triangle , and . Thus,
The side lengths of triangle are , , and , so it is a -- triangle. Therefore, . Since , segment also bisects , so
Compute the sector area
The sector for the minor arc has central angle , so its area is
Compute the triangle area
Triangle has base and height . Therefore,
Subtract to get the segment area
The region bounded by the chord and the minor arc is the sector minus triangle :
So the correct choice is .