Areas Related to Circles: Class 10 Maths · Chapter 11
Mathematics · Companion notes, simulations and practice · Official NCERT chapter PDF ↗
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What you will learn in Areas Related to Circles
- Name the minor and major sectors and segments made by two radii or a chord, and find the angle of a major sector.
- Derive the area of a sector and the length of an arc by the unitary method, and use them with π = 22/7 or 3.14.
- Find the perimeter of a sector and use area = ½ × arc length × radius.
- Find the area of triangle OAB from the perpendicular OM and trigonometric ratios for any central angle.
- Find the areas of minor and major segments as differences of areas.
- Solve everyday and board-exam problems on clock hands, grazing animals, sprinklers, wheels and designs.
Original companion text aligned to NCERT Mathematics Class 10, Chapter 11, pp. 154–160. Not affiliated with or endorsed by NCERT.
11.1 Areas of Sector and Segment of a Circle
Share a pizza with friends and the first question is always: how big is my slice? The minute hand of a clock sweeps a wedge of the dial every few minutes. A rangoli artist fills the curved strip between a straight chalk line and the rim of a circle. Each of these is a part of a circle, and this chapter is about measuring such parts.
You already have the tools. From Class 9 you know that a circle of radius has circumference and area , and you have met arcs and sectors. Here we name every part precisely and build each formula by the unitary method. Then we use the trigonometric ratios of Chapter 8 to find the triangle hidden inside a segment. That last step is the one board questions test most.
Sectors and segments
Draw a circle with centre and mark two points and on it. The radii and cut the disc into two pieces, just as two cuts from the centre cut a pizza. Each piece is bounded by the two radii and one of the arcs , and is called a sector (त्रिज्यखंड). The angle at the centre is the angle of the sector.
The two sectors are usually of different sizes. The smaller one is the minor sector and the larger one is the major sector. The two angles at together make a full turn. So if the minor sector has angle , the major sector has angle , as steps 1 and 2 of Fig. 11.1 show.
The region of a disc bounded by two radii and the arc between their ends. Its angle is the angle between the two radii at the centre.
ExampleOne slice of a round pizza cut from the centre.
Now join and by a straight line instead. The chord also splits the disc into two pieces. Each piece is bounded by the chord and one of the arcs, and is called a segment (वृत्तखंड). The smaller one is the minor segment and the larger one is the major segment (steps 3 and 4).
The region of a disc bounded by a chord and one of the two arcs that the chord cuts off.
ExampleThe piece that breaks off a round papad along a straight crack.
1/4Two radii make the minor sector, with angle at .
A circle with centre O and two points A and B on its right side. Step 1 shades the minor sector, the narrow wedge between radii OA and OB, with its angle theta marked at O. Step 2 shades instead the major sector, the large wedge on the left, with the angle 360 degrees minus theta. Step 3 hides the radii, draws the chord AB as a dashed line and shades the thin minor segment between the chord and the short arc. Step 4 shades the major segment, everything on the other side of the chord.
One convention saves words. When a question says just “sector” or “segment”, it means the minor one; the larger piece is always called “major”. Notice also how the boundaries differ: a sector always has a corner at the centre, while the corners of a segment are the two ends of a chord.
Show answer
Answer (B) a minor and a major segment
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Answer 250 degrees
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Answer False
Area of a sector
How much of the disc does a sector hold? In Class 9 you saw why equal angles at the centre give equal slices. The quickest way to turn that into a formula is the unitary method, the one a shopkeeper uses to price a single item: find the area for one degree, then multiply. The starting point is the whole disc, which is a “sector” whose angle is a full turn.
A full turn of holds , so one degree holds of it, that is . A sector of degrees is made of such one-degree slices, as Fig. 11.2 shows. Its area is therefore times .
3/3A sector of is one-degree slices put together.
A shaded disc with centre O and short tick marks all round its rim, standing for equal slices. On the right, the first line says 360 degrees goes with pi r squared. Step 2 picks out one thin slice, drawn wider than one degree so it can be seen, and a second line says 1 degree goes with pi r squared over 360. Step 3 shades a sector of angle theta made of theta such slices, and a third line says theta degrees goes with theta over 360 times pi r squared.
- area of the sector
- radius of the circle
- angle of the sector, in degrees
Read the formula as a share: a sector takes the same fraction of the disc as its angle takes of a full turn. A quadrant () is of the disc, and a sector is of it. For the major sector, either subtract the minor sector from the whole disc or put in place of ; both give the same answer.
- area of the major sector
A pizza in five slices
A pizza of diameter 20 cm is cut from the centre into 5 equal slices. Find the area of one slice, and the area of pizza left after one slice is eaten. (Use .)
2/2One slice is the minor sector; the rest is the major sector.
A round pizza with a crust, tomato and capsicum toppings, cut from the centre into five equal slices; labels say 5 equal slices, each 72 degrees, radius 10 cm. In step 2 the slice on the right, with its angle marked, slides outwards away from the rest. Labels now give one slice as 62.8 square centimetres and the rest as 251.2 square centimetres.
Try it yourself first. Then reveal the solution one step at a time.
Length of an arc
The same reasoning measures the curved edge of a sector, its arc (चाप). The whole circle, all of it, is long. One degree at the centre gets of that length, and degrees get times as much. Imagine peeling the edge of the circle off and laying it flat, as in Fig. 11.4: the arc is a piece of that straight line in proportion to its angle.
3/3The arc is of that line.
Top left, a circle with centre O and a sector of 120 degrees, its arc l drawn thick. Step 2 lays the whole edge of the circle flat as a straight line 2 pi r long, with ticks marked 0, 90, 180, 270 and 360 degrees. Step 3 thickens the first third of the line, from 0 to 120 degrees, labelled l, and shows the working l equals 120 over 360 times 2 pi r.
- length of the arc of a sector of angle
Board questions often ask for the perimeter of a sector, the length of its whole boundary. Walk round it: out along one radius, along the arc, and back along the other radius. So the perimeter is , not alone.
A circle with centre O and two draggable points A and B on it. The sector between them is shaded and its arc is drawn thick. Readouts show the angle AOB, the length of arc AB, the chord AB and the radius in centimetres, with the arc-length formula worked out for the current numbers. Points snap to multiples of 5 degrees, and a grip on the circle changes the radius between 2.5 and 6.5 cm.
- Make . Is the arc a quarter of ?
- Keep the angle fixed and change the radius. When grows by half, by how much does the arc grow?
- Make the angle . What is the arc now, in terms of ?
Formulas (11.1) and (11.2) share the factor , and that gives a useful link between them. Multiply the arc length by :
Fig. 11.6 shows why this makes sense. Cut a sector into many thin slices and fit them together head to tail. They form a shape close to a parallelogram whose height is about and whose base is about half the arc. Its area is about , and the thinner the slices, the better the fit. The result saves time when a question gives the arc length but not the angle.
3/3Turn every other slice upside down and fit them together: height about , base about .
On the left, a sector with centre O, radius r and arc length l. Step 2 cuts it into six thin slices with lines from O. Step 3 shows the six slices on the right, placed side by side with every other slice upside down, so they make a shape close to a parallelogram. Its height is marked r and its base is marked l over 2, and the label says the area is about l over 2 times r.
A level-crossing barrier
At a railway level crossing, the barrier arm is 4.2 m long and turns about a pivot at one end. After a train passes, the arm swings up from horizontal to vertical. (a) How far does its tip travel? (b) What area does the arm sweep?
3/3The arm sweeps a quadrant of radius 4.2 m.
A striped barrier arm 4.2 m long lies horizontally from a pivot on a short post with a warning lamp. In step 2 the arm turns up about the pivot until it is vertical, and the path of its tip is drawn as a dashed quarter circle labelled tip moves 6.6 m. In step 3 the quarter circle swept by the arm is shaded and labelled 13.86 square metres.
Try it yourself first. Then reveal the solution one step at a time.
Show answer
Answer 19.25 cm²
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Answer (D) It becomes four times as large.
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Answer 60 degrees
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Answer 60 cm²
Area of a segment
A segment has no formula of its own: we find it by subtraction. Look at the minor segment cut off by the chord in Fig. 11.8. Put the triangle next to it and together they make the whole sector . So the segment is what remains when the triangle is taken out of the sector.
- area of the minor segment
- area of the sector,
- area of triangle
3/4Sector minus triangle leaves the minor segment.
A circle with centre O and a chord AB across its upper part, with the angle theta marked at O. Step 1 shades the sector OAB. Step 2 shades the triangle OAB inside it with a dashed outline. Step 3 shades only the thin minor segment between the chord and the arc, with the label sector minus triangle OAB. Step 4 shades the major segment below the chord, labelled pi r squared minus the minor segment.
The major pieces come from the whole disc. The major sector is minus the minor sector, and the major segment is minus the minor segment. Be careful with one tempting shortcut: the major segment is the major sector plus triangle , not minus it, because the triangle lies on the major segment's side of the chord.
Finding the area of triangle OAB
Everything now rests on the triangle. Two of its sides are radii, so , and the angle between them is . For it is easy: the radii are perpendicular, so they serve as base and height, and the area is . For other angles we find a height using trigonometry.
Draw perpendicular to the chord (Fig. 11.9). The right triangles and have equal hypotenuses () and share the side , so they are congruent by RHS. Hence , and halves the angle at : .
In the right triangle , the angle at is and the hypotenuse is . The ratios of Chapter 8 give the two legs:
Take as the base and as the height:
3/3 and , so the area is .
An isosceles triangle OAB hangs from the centre O at the top, inside a dashed arc of the circle. Step 1 marks OA and OB as r and the angle theta at O. Step 2 draws the perpendicular OM from O to the midpoint M of AB, with a right-angle mark, equal tick marks on AM and MB, and the two halves of the angle marked theta over 2. Step 3 adds the results OM equals r cos theta over 2, AM equals r sin theta over 2, and the area of triangle OAB equals AM times OM.
| Area of | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Two quick routes are worth remembering. At the triangle is equilateral: forces equal base angles, and they must also be . Its area is straight away. At the triangle is half of a square drawn on the radius.
Stained glass in a round window
A round window of radius 70 cm has a straight wooden bar across it. The bar subtends at the centre , and the glass below the bar (the minor segment) is coloured. Find the area of the coloured glass. (Use and .)
2/2Radii , and the perpendicular give the triangle.
A round window with a thick frame and a horizontal wooden bar AB across its lower part; the glass below the bar is coloured and patterned, labelled stained glass. Step 2 draws the radii OA and OB with the 120 degree angle at the centre O and the perpendicular OM to the bar with a right-angle mark at M. Labels list OA = 70 cm, angle AOB = 120 degrees and OM = 35 cm.
Try it yourself first. Then reveal the solution one step at a time.
A rangoli with a yellow strip
A circular rangoli has radius 20 cm. A straight line of white powder joins two points and on its edge with , and the strip between this line and the edge is filled with yellow. Find the area of (a) the yellow minor segment, (b) the major segment. (Use and .)
2/3With , triangle has all three sides 20 cm.
A circular rangoli decorated with eight petals and a ring of dots. A straight line AB near the right edge cuts off a thin yellow strip, labelled minor segment. Step 2 shades the triangle OAB with the 60 degree angle at O and notes that OA, OB and AB all equal 20 cm, so the triangle is equilateral. Step 3 shades everything on the other side of AB, labelled major segment, about 1219.67 square centimetres.
Try it yourself first. Then reveal the solution one step at a time.
Show answer
Answer (C)
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Answer 56 cm²
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Answer (A) the major sector plus triangle
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Answer True
Practice 11.1: questions with answers
Use unless a question says otherwise.
A sector has radius 9 cm and an angle of . How much area does it cover?
cm²Show answer
Answer 49.5 cm²
.The border of a circular rangoli is a ribbon 132 cm long. One quadrant of the rangoli is filled with marigold petals. What area do the petals cover?
Show solution
Answer
, so cm.
A quadrant is a quarter of the disc: .
The minute hand of a wall clock is 10.5 cm long. It moves from 10:10 to 10:30.
Through what angle does it turn, in degrees?
degreesShow answer
Answer 120 degrees
It turns per minute, and .What area of the dial does it sweep, in cm²?
cm²Show answer
Answer 115.5 cm²
.How far does the tip of the hand travel, in cm?
cmShow answer
Answer 22 cm
.
In a circle of radius 8 cm, the radii and are at right angles, and is joined. Use .
Find the area of the minor segment, in cm².
cm²Show answer
Answer 18.24 cm²
Sector , triangle , so the segment is .Find the area of the major sector, in cm².
cm²Show answer
Answer 150.72 cm²
The whole disc is , so the major sector is .
An arc of a circle of radius 28 cm makes an angle of at the centre. Work out:
the length of the arc, in cm
cmShow answer
Answer 29.33 cm
.the area of the sector, in cm²
cm²Show answer
Answer 410.67 cm²
.the area of the minor segment (exactly, then with )
Show solution
Answer
The equilateral triangle has side 28 cm, so its area is .
Segment .
In a circle of radius 30 cm, the chord makes . Work out the areas of both segments it creates, minor and major. (Use and .)
Show solution
AnswerMinor: ; major:
Sector: .
The triangle is equilateral with side 30 cm: .
Minor segment: .
Disc: , so the major segment is .
A round glass tabletop has radius 60 cm. A gold strip fills the minor segment cut off by a chord with . How large is the strip? (Use and .)
Show solution
Answer
Sector: .
cm and cm.
Triangle: .
Strip: .
A goat grazes in a rectangular field 20 m by 15 m. Its 6 m rope is fixed to a peg in one corner of the field. (Use .)
Fig. 11.13The corner is a right angle, so the goat grazes a quadrant. A rectangular field 20 m long and 15 m wide. A peg sits at the bottom left corner with a rope to a shaded quarter circle of radius 6 m, the area the goat can graze. A dashed quarter circle of radius 9 m shows the larger grazing area with a longer rope.
What area can the goat graze, in m²?
m²Show answer
Answer 28.26 m²
A quadrant of radius 6 m: .The owner swaps the rope for a 9 m one. By how much does the grazing area grow, in m²?
m²Show answer
Answer 35.325 m²
With 9 m (still shorter than both sides): . Increase: .
For a school project, Kabir bends brass wire into a model cart wheel: a rim of diameter 42 mm and 4 straight wires that run right across it through the centre, cutting the wheel into 8 equal parts.
Find the total length of wire, in mm.
mmShow answer
Answer 300 mm
Circumference mm, and four diameters add mm: in all.Find the area of each part, in mm².
mm²Show answer
Answer 173.25 mm²
Each part is a sector of angle : .
A prize wheel at a mela is a flat disc of radius 35 cm, divided into prize sections by 10 equally spaced lines from the centre. Find the area of one section.
cm²Show answer
Answer 385 cm²
Each section is a sector: .Two lawn sprinklers each throw water up to 4.2 m while turning through . Their wet regions do not overlap. Find the total area watered in one sweep.
m²Show answer
Answer 30.8 m²
One sector: . Two: .A floodlight on a railway platform throws light 30 m ahead, spread across an angle of . What area of the platform and track does it light? (Use .)
m²Show answer
Answer 549.5 m²
.A round brass plate of radius 21 cm has a regular hexagon engraved on it, with its six corners on the rim. The six segments between the hexagon and the rim are enamelled at ₹0.50 per cm². Find the cost. (Use .)
Fig. 11.14Each side of the hexagon cuts off one segment. A round brass plate of radius 21 cm with a regular hexagon drawn inside it, its six corners on the rim. The six curved pieces between the sides of the hexagon and the rim are shaded and labelled enamelled segments; a dashed radius is marked 21 cm.
Show solution
AnswerAbout ₹120.80
Joining to the six corners makes six triangles with at , each equilateral with side 21 cm.
One segment: .
Six segments: .
Cost: , that is about ₹120.80.
Which of these give the area of a sector of angle in a circle of radius ? Choose all that apply.
Select all that applyShow answer
Answer- (A)
- (C)
- (E)
A is (11.1). C is the same, since . E is with arc . B is the arc length itself, and D is twice the area.Circle 1 has radius and an arc of . Circle 2 has radius and an arc of . The arc in circle 1 is the longer one.
Show answer
Answer False
By (11.2) the arcs are and , which are equal. Halving the angle and doubling the radius cancel out.
11.2 Summary
Three results carry the whole chapter. Two are a fraction of a whole-circle quantity, and the third is a difference of two areas.
3/3Segment: sector minus triangle
A circle with centre O and a sector at its upper right. Step 1 thickens the arc and shows the arc-length formula, l equals theta over 360 times 2 pi r. Step 2 shades the sector and adds its area formula, theta over 360 times pi r squared. Step 3 shades only the segment between the chord and the arc and adds the rule: segment equals sector minus triangle OAB.
Areas Related to Circles: key points and summary
- A sector is bounded by two radii and an arc; a segment by a chord and an arc. Each comes as a minor and a major piece, and a lone “sector” or “segment” means the minor one (Sectors and segments).
- If the minor sector has angle , the major sector has angle (Sectors and segments).
- By the unitary method, the area of a sector is ((11.1)).
- The length of an arc is , and the perimeter of a sector is ((11.2)).
- When the arc length is known, the area of a sector is ((11.3)).
- Area of a minor segment = area of the sector − area of triangle ((11.4)).
- Major sector minor sector, and major segment minor segment (Area of a segment).
- With : , and triangle ((11.5)).
- At and the triangle has area ; at it is (Table 11.1).
- Use the value of and that the question gives (Key idea).
Formula cards
Tap an item on the left, then its match on the right.
Show answer
- Arc length :
- Sector area :
- Perimeter of a sector :
- Segment area : sector − triangle
Show answer
Answer 120 degrees
Board-exam practice
These questions follow the patterns of the CBSE board paper: one-mark MCQs, an assertion–reason item, and 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-mark questions. Show the formula, the substitution and the units in every written answer.
Practice questions with answers (NCERT “Board-exam practice”)
Use unless a question says otherwise.
The perimeter of a sector of a circle of radius 7 cm is 25 cm. The area of the sector is
Show answer
Answer (B)
cm, so . Taking gives 87.5, and leaving out the gives 77.A sector has of the area of its circle. Its angle is
Show answer
Answer (C)
gives .Assertion (A): If the radius of a circle is doubled and the angle of a sector is halved, the area of the sector doubles. Reason (R): The area of a sector is proportional to its angle and to the square of the radius.
Show answer
Answer (A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
The new area is . So A is true, and it follows directly from R.(2 marks) The radii and of a circle of radius 7 cm are perpendicular. Calculate the area of the minor segment cut off by the chord .
Show solution
Answer
Sector: . Triangle: .
Segment: .
(3 marks) The minute hand of a clock is 7 cm long and the hour hand is 6 cm long. Find the total area swept by the two hands between 3:00 and 3:40.
Show solution
Answer
In 40 minutes the minute hand turns and the hour hand turns .
Total: .
(3 marks) A sector has an arc 33 cm long and an area of . Find its radius and its angle.
Show solution
Answer,
, so cm.
The circumference is cm, and the arc is of it.
So .
(4 marks, case study) For Diwali, Ananya draws a circular rangoli of radius 42 cm and divides it into 6 equal sectors by lines from the centre. In one sector she joins the ends of the arc with a straight line and fills that segment with blue powder. (Use and .)
What is the angle of each sector, in degrees?
degreesShow answer
Answer 60 degrees
.Find the area of each sector, in cm².
cm²Show answer
Answer 924 cm²
.Find the perimeter of one sector, in cm.
cmShow answer
Answer 128 cm
Arc cm, so the perimeter is .Find the area of the blue segment, in cm².
cm²Show answer
Answer 161.07 cm²
The triangle is equilateral with side 42 cm: . Segment: .
(5 marks) In a circle with centre and radius 10 cm, the chord makes . Find (a) the length of , (b) the area of the minor segment, (c) the area of the major segment. (Use and .)
Show solution
Answer(a) (b) about (c) about
Draw . By RHS, is the midpoint of and .
(a) cm.
(b) Sector: . Triangle: . Minor segment: .
(c) Major segment: .
Find your NCERT exercise question
Our practice questions are written for ncert.ai and follow the NCERT exercises. Find the one that matches the question in your textbook; its answer is with it.
| In your NCERT textbook | Practice question here |
|---|---|
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q1 | Practice Q1 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q2 | Practice Q2 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q3 | Practice Q3 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q4 | Practice Q4 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q5 | Practice Q5 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q6 | Practice Q6 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q7 | Practice Q7 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q8 | Practice Q8 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q9 | Practice Q9 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q10 | Practice Q10 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q11 | Practice Q11 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q12 | Practice Q12 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q13 | Practice Q13 |
| NCERT Exercise 11.1, Q14 | Practice Q14 |
Quick check: MCQs on Areas Related to Circles
- Sectors and segments3 questions
- Length of an arc4 questions
- Finding the area of triangle OAB4 questions
- Quick revision2 questions
Key terms (English–Hindi)
- arcचापchaap
- A part of a circle between two of its points. An arc of angle has length .First seen in the chapter →
- chordजीवाjeeva
- A line segment joining two points of a circle.First seen in the chapter →
- major sectorदीर्घ त्रिज्यखंडdeergh trijyakhand
- The larger of the two sectors made by two radii, with angle .First seen in the chapter →
- major segmentदीर्घ वृत्तखंडdeergh vrittakhand
- The larger segment cut off by a chord; its area is minus the minor segment.First seen in the chapter →
- minor sectorलघु त्रिज्यखंडlaghu trijyakhand
- The smaller of the two sectors made by two radii; its angle is less than .First seen in the chapter →
- minor segmentलघु वृत्तखंडlaghu vrittakhand
- The smaller segment cut off by a chord; its area is the sector minus triangle .First seen in the chapter →
- quadrantचतुर्थांशchaturthansh
- A sector of angle , one quarter of a disc.First seen in the chapter →
- sectorत्रिज्यखंडtrijyakhand
- The region of a disc between two radii and the arc joining their ends.First seen in the chapter →
- segmentवृत्तखंडvrittakhand
- The region of a disc between a chord and one of the arcs it cuts off.First seen in the chapter →