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Sector, segment and arc - Higher only – WJECArea of a sector

Sometimes we need to know how to calculate values for specific sections of a circle. These can include arc lengths, the area and perimeter of sectors and the area of segments.

Part of MathsGeometry and Measure

Area of a sector

The area of a shape is the space contained inside it. We can find the area of a sector using the formula:

\(\frac{\texttheta}{360} \times \pi~\text{r}^{2}\)

\(\texttheta\) is the angle of the sector and \(\text{r}\) is the radius of the circle.

Example

A sector with an angle of 45° and a radius of 11 cm.

Here, \(\text{r}\) = 11 and \(\texttheta\) = 45⁰.

Substituting these into the formula, we get:

\(\text{Area =}~\frac{45}{360} \times \pi \times {11}^{2}\)

\(\text{= 47.51...}\)

\(\text{= 47.5 cm}^{2}~\text{(to one decimal place)}\)

Question

Find the area of this sector:

A sector with an angle of 110° and a radius of 32 cm.