A circle has center , and points and lie on the circle. The length of the major arc is units greater than the length of the minor arc . The area of the minor sector is square units.
What is the radius of the circle, in units?
When a problem gives information about both the major and minor arcs, treat their lengths as a sum-and-difference pair. Their sum is the circumference, so you can write the desired arc length using . For a sector, use its fraction of the full circle or the equivalent relationship to connect arc information to area.
Hints
Use both arc conditions
Let the minor arc length be . The two arcs add to the circumference, and their difference is given.
Connect arc length and area
A sector occupies the same fraction of the circle as its arc occupies of the circumference. This leads to .
Check the radius restriction
Your equation in may have two solutions. Remember that a circle's radius cannot be negative.
Desmos Guide
Use algebra first
Algebra is the fastest method here: use the arc information to obtain .
Verify the positive solution
Graph . The positive -intercept is the possible radius; disregard the negative intercept because a radius must be positive.
Step-by-step Explanation
Express the minor arc length
Let be the length of the minor arc. The major and minor arcs together make the full circumference, so their total length is .
Because the major arc is units longer than the minor arc, the minor arc is
Relate sector area to arc length
The minor sector has the same fraction of the circle's area as its arc has of the circumference. Therefore,
Substitute the given area and the expression for :
Solve for the positive radius
Divide by and multiply by :
Thus,
Factoring gives . A radius must be positive, so the radius is .