Chord

Chords were used extensively in the early development of trigonometry. The first
known trigonometric table, compiled by Hipparchus, tabulated the value of the
chord function for every 7.5 degrees. In the second century AD, Ptolemy of
Alexandria compiled a more extensive table of chords in his book on astronomy,
giving the value of the chord for angles ranging from 1/2 degree to 180 degrees by
increments of half a degree. The circle was of diameter 120, and the chord lengths
are accurate to two base-60 digits after the integer part.
The chord function is defined geometrically as shown in the picture. The chord of an
angle is the length of the chord between two points on a unit circle separated by
that angle. The chord function can be related to the modern sine function, by taking
one of the points to be (1,0), and the other point to be (cos , sin ), and then
using the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the chord length.

Formulas
Formula:
Chord length = 2r2 - d2
where,
r = radius of the circle d = perpendicular distance from the chord
to the circle center

Example:
Find the chord of a circle where radius is 5 cm and perpendicular distance from
chord to center is 4 cm?
Given
Radius r = 5 cm Distance d = 4 cm
To Find
Chord length of circle
Solution:
Chord length

= 2r2 - d2

Chord length

= 2 52 - 42
= 2 25 - 16
= 2 9
=2x3
= 6 cm

Arc
An arc is a portion of the circumference of a
circle. In the figure above, the arc is the
blue part of the circle. Strictly speaking, an
arc could be a portion of some other curved
shape, such as an ellipse, but it almost
always refers to a circle. To avoid all
possible mistake, it is sometimes called a
circular arc.
A straight line is drawn between the end
points of the arc would be a chord of the
circle.

A connected section of the circumference of a circle.

Arcs are measured in two ways: as the measure of the central angle, or as the
length of the arc itself.

Measurement
by
central
angle
(degrees)

The red arc (minor arc) measures 120.

The blue arc (major arc) measures 240.

Measurement
by arc length
(radians)

Formula: s
=
r
s=
arc
length
r=
radius
of
the
circle

=
measure
of
the central
angle in radians
Red arc: r = 2 and = 2/3, so s = 4/3
Blue arc: r = 2 and = 4/3, so s = 8/3

Central Angle Formula

A central angle is an angle whose apex (vertex) is the center O of a circle and
whose legs (sides) are radii intersecting the circle in two distinct points A and B.
The central angle is subtended by an arc between those two points, and the arc
length is the central angle (measured in radians) times the radius.[1] The central
angle is also known as the arc's angular distance.
The size of a central angle is 0<<360 r 0<<2 (radians). When defining or
drawing a central angle, in addition to specifying the points A and B, one must
specify whether the angle being defined is the convex angle (<180) or the reflex
angle (>180). Equivalently, one must specify whether the movement from point A
to point B is clockwise or counterclockwise.

Formula
The Central Angle Formula is given as,
Angle Problems
Some solved problems on angle are given below:
Solved Examples
Question 1: Find the angle of a segment in a circle if the arc length is 4 and the
radius is 5 ?
Solution:
The angle formula is given as,
Angle = Arc Length3602RadiusArc Length3602Radius
Angle = 436025436025 degrees
Angle = 144 degrees
Question 2: Find the angle of a segment in a circle if the arc length is 6 and the
radius is 10 ?
Solution:
The angle formula is given as,
Angle = Arc Length3602RadiusArc Length3602Radius
Angle = 63602106360210 degrees
Angle = 108 degrees

Tangent and Secant

A secant is a line that intersects the circle in two different points and a tangent is a
line that intersects the circle in exactly one point, called the point of tangency.
Secant and tangent theorems can be used to find congruency, similarity, and special
length relationships between the two. One important theorem about secants and
tangents states that the measure of an angle formed by two secants, a secant and
a tangent, or two tangents intersecting in the interior of a circle is equal to one-half
the
difference
of
the
measures
of
the
intercepted
arcs;
that
is,

If a secant and a tangent of a circle are drawn from a point outside the circle, then
the product of the lengths of the secant and its external segment equals the square
of the length of the tangent segment.

If a tangent and a secant or if two secants intersect from a point outside of the
circle, then there are two useful theorems/formula that relate the side lengths of
the two given segments (either tangent & secant or secant & secant)

Problem 1
Use the theorem for the intersection of a tangent and a secant of a circle to solve
the problems below.
In the diagram on the left, the red line is a tangent, how long is it?
x = (7+5) 5
x = (12) 5
x = 60
x=

Problem 2
In the problem below, the red line is a tangent of the circle,
what is its length?
x = (7+9) 7
x = (16) 7
x = 112
=