G.C.A.

2 STUDENT NOTES & PRACTICE WS #1 – geometrycommoncore.com 1

Circle Basics

Definition:

A circle is the set of all points that are equidistant from a given point,
called the center. The distance from the center to its points is called the radius.

When we name a circle we refer to it by its center, so for example the circle to the
right is called Circle A ( e A ).

The radius of the circle is the fixed distance from the center to the edge of the circle,
A r
so for example the circle to the right has a radius of r.

A circle is quite unique because only a single value defines it shape even through it’s
a two dimensional object. Since all aspects of a circle’s size depends on the length
of its radius, we can change the size of any circle by simply dilating the radius by a
scale factor to either make it bigger or smaller.

There are a number of specific terms that are related to circles that we need to also define and clarify.

Circumference – We have already looked at this in an earlier objective but the circumference of a circle is the
distance around the circle and is calculated by C = πd or C = 2πr.

B F Chord -- A chord is a line segment that has both endpoints on the circle. The
C
longest chord possible in a circle is the one that passes through the center of the
circle and is called the diameter of the circle. A diameter always divides a circle
D into two congruent arcs. These congruent arcs are called semi-circles. A semi-
A
circle has an arc measure of 180°. A radius is NOT a chord because it does not
have both of its endpoints on the circle.

E
Chords -- AB , CD , EF Diameter -- EF

Two other important objects that deal with a circle are tangents and secants. These B

are two specific types of lines that interact with the circle. A tangent line intersects the
circle EXACTLY ONCE at a point known as the point of tangency. A secant line on the A
E

other hand intersects the circle EXACTLY TWICE forming a chord inside the circle.

suur suur D
Secant AB Chord AB Tangent CE Point of Tangency D
C

D Arc – An Arc is a piece or portion of the circumference of a circle. Arcs are classified into
E
two types, major and minor arcs. Major arcs have a value greater than 180° and minor
arcs have a value less than 180°. These arcs also have naming conventions; minor arcs are
ª or FD
named using its two endpoints, such as DE ª while major arcs include a third point
between its two endpoints to help distinguish the direction and size of the arc, such as
F
º or EDF
º .

DEF
G.C.A.2 STUDENT NOTES & PRACTICE WS #1 – geometrycommoncore.com 2

Semi-Circle – You might have noticed that major and minor arcs were either bigger or H

smaller than 180°. So how do we refer to the arc when it is exactly 180°? It is called a
I
semi-circle. A semi-circle is an arc that is exactly half of the circle and has an arc measure
of 180°. There is no distinction as to whether semi-circles should be written as a major M

º , GMH
or minor arc - actually either is acceptable, such as GH º º . The reason you
, GIH
might use three letters is to help distinguish which half of the circle you are referring to. G


Major Arc, º Minor Arc, ª Semi-Circle, º

ABC AC AED Arc Addition

B B D E 95°
H G

C C 65°

A
A A

Greater than 180° Less than 180° Equal to 180° ª º
mFG + mGH = mFH º


65° + 95° = 160°

Arc Length (Distance) & Arc Angle (Angle Measure)

Arcs have two ways to measure them - their length and their angle measure. Arc length refers to the physical
distance along the arc from one end to the other. Arc length is a portion or percentage of the circumference
distance. The arc angle or arc measure refers to the portion of the circles angle sum. When we refer to the
º . The m
measurement of an arc (angle measure) we place a lowercase italic m in front of the arc name, mGH
denotes the measure of the arc -- just as we did when we referenced the measurement of an angle, m∠ABC.

Central Angles and Arc Measurement

A central angle of a circle is an angle that has its vertex at the center of the circle and has radii as its sides.
We looked at central angles when we discussed the regular polygons. We found that the central angles of
the regular polygons were 360°/n, where n was the number of sides of the polygon.

x x
x x

Central Angle = 120° Central Angle = 90° Central Angle = 72° Central Angle = 60°
The central angle is always equal to the intercepted arc measure. This is a very important relationship for
solving many problems dealing with circles.
90°

B B
90° 90°
90° 90° 90°
76° 90° 180°
180°
A C
C
A
76°

90°

∠ABC is a central Central angle is equal to the The square has 4 ≅ arcs A diameter is a central angle of
angle. intercepted arc measure. and 4 ≅ central angles. 180°, thus the arc is also 180°.

G.C.A.2 STUDENT NOTES & PRACTICE WS #1 – geometrycommoncore.com 3

1. Match the following terms.
a. _____ Radius f. _____ Tangent 1. AC 6. Point G G

b. _____ Diameter g. _____ Center º 7. DE

C
2. DEF

c. _____ Chord h. _____ Exterior Point

suur ª
3. CB 8. CD A E
d. _____ Secant i. _____ Major Arc


B
4. Point A 9. CD D

e. _____ Minor Arc j. _____ Semi-Circle

suur
º
5. DCE 10. DF
F

2. Circles A and D have radii of 4 cm & 1 cm respectively. Use C

this information to determine the missing values.
a) BF = _________ G

E
F D
b) AD = _________ B A

c) CD = _________

d) CG = _________
e) Perimeter of ΔACD = _________

3. Determine the arc measure.

a) b)
ª = _________
mCE E ª = _________
mDF
F F
34°
ª = _________
mEF D ª = _________
mFR R

126°
º = _________
mECK 53°
A ª = _________
mEC
D

K A
º = _________
mDFC
C º = _________
mDFE E
H 112°

C
4. Determine the missing information.
a) Given circle B with EC as a diameter. º = 34° and
b) Given concentric circles with mGH
(question continues on next page m∠AJB = 90°.

G.C.A.2 STUDENT NOTES & PRACTICE WS #1 – geometrycommoncore.com 4

m ªAC = ______ E
ª = ______
mHB A

I
K
B

ª = ______
mAE m∠AJH= ______
B
J
39° H L
ª = ______
A
º = ______
mLFK
C
mEK K 34° F E

m∠KBD = ______
C
ª = ______
mIK
G D

D
70°

5. Given a regular hexagon. Determine the missing information.

a) m∠ATB = __________ b) m∠DTB = __________ D

E

c) m ª
AC = __________ º = __________
d) mECA C
T

e) m∠AEB = __________ f) If AB = 5 cm, what is TB = _________ (E) F

g) If AB = 5 cm, what is EA = _________ (E) B

6. Circles B and C are congruent. Circle B has a radius of 4 cm and ∠AEC E

is a right angle. Use this information to determine the missing values.

a) BC = _________ b) AD = _________
A B C D

c) Perimeter of Quad. BECF = _________
F
d) AC = _________

e) AE = _________

7. After completing this question a very observant students states, “Hey ΔAEC must be a special right
triangle, 30°-60°-90°.” She is correct, what did she see that helped her come to this conclusion?

8. Determine the radius of the circle.

a) Area = 36π r = _________ b) C = 10π r = _________

c) r = _________ d) r = _________ e) r = _________ (E)

12 2 cm

5 cm 12 cm

6 cm

Square inscribed