Question 17·Medium·Circles
A circle has a radius of . What is the length, in centimeters, of the arc that subtends a central angle of in this circle?
For arc length problems on the SAT, immediately write down the appropriate formula based on how the angle is given: use for degrees or for radians (after converting degrees to radians if needed). Always simplify the angle fraction first to keep numbers small, then multiply step by step, watching for arithmetic slips. Finally, express your answer in terms of if the choices are written that way, which often makes mental checking easier.
Hints
Connect arc length to circumference
Think about how the length of an arc relates to the full circumference of the circle. What fraction of the whole circle does a angle represent?
Use the degree-based formula
Use the formula , where is arc length, is the central angle in degrees, and is the radius.
Substitute and simplify carefully
After plugging in and , simplify the fraction first, then multiply the remaining numbers and .
Desmos Guide
Enter the arc length expression
In Desmos, type the expression (120/360)*2*pi*6 to represent .
Read the numerical result
Look at the value Desmos gives for this expression and match it to the equivalent choice written in terms of among the answer options.
Step-by-step Explanation
Recall the arc length formula for degrees
For a circle with radius and a central angle of degrees, the arc length is given by:
This formula takes the fraction of the full circle represented by the angle and multiplies it by the full circumference.
Substitute the given values
Here, the radius is cm and the central angle is . Substitute these into the formula:
Simplify the fraction and multiply
First simplify the fraction:
Now compute the product:
Combine and :
Finally,
So the length of the arc is centimeters, which corresponds to choice B.