Question 49·Medium·Circles
In circle , the minor arc has measure . The length of this arc is centimeters. What is the radius, in centimeters, of circle ?
(Express the answer as an integer)
For circle arc problems, immediately write down the correct version of the arc length formula: when is in degrees. Plug in the given arc length and central angle, simplify the fraction carefully, and then solve the one-step linear equation for , being especially careful not to drop the 2 in or mishandle the fraction.
Hints
Connect arc length to circumference
Think about how arc length relates to the circle’s total circumference . What fraction of the full does a arc represent?
Set up an equation using the fraction of the circle
is what fraction of ? Multiply that fraction by the full circumference and set it equal to the given arc length .
Solve for the radius
After you set up the equation with on one side and an expression involving on the other, isolate by using inverse operations (like clearing fractions and dividing).
Desmos Guide
Use Desmos to compute the radius from the formula
In Desmos, type 6pi / ((120/360)*2pi) as an expression. The numeric value that Desmos outputs for this expression is the radius of the circle in centimeters.
Step-by-step Explanation
Recall the arc length formula for degrees
For a circle with radius and central angle (in degrees), the length of the arc is
Here, and .
Substitute the known values into the formula
Plug and into the formula:
Simplify the fraction :
so the equation becomes
Simplify and solve for the radius
First simplify the right side:
So we have
Multiply both sides by 3 to clear the denominator:
Divide both sides by :
So, the radius of circle is centimeters.