Circle

A circle is a plane figure, a shape in Euclidian geometry that consists of points which are all equally distant from a given point in space. That distance is called the radius (r) and that given point is called the center (marked by the symbol O ). A straight line that connects two points on the opposite sides of a circle and goes through the center is called the diameter (d). Its length is twice the length of the radius.

circle

Circumference of a circle

The circumference of a circle (we will use the letter C as the symbol) is the length of the curved line that forms the circle or, in other words, the distance around the outside of the circle. It can be calculated using the formula:

C = 2 * r * π

or

C = d * π

Let us go and find the circumference of this circle as an example:

circle circumference

Its diameter is 5 cm, so when we introduce that measure into the formula, we get:

C = 5π cm

You can leave the result in this form, it is perfectly fine. In fact, this is considered an exact result. But if you wish to (for whatever reason) convert it into numbers, just do the multiplication and round the result to the nearest tenth or any number of decimals you want.

Area of a circle

The Greek mathematician Archimedes determined that the area a circle encloses (A) is equal to the area enclosed by a triangle whose base is the same length as the circumference of the circle and whose height is equal to the radius of the circle. The formula that we use to calculate that area is:

A = π * r2

As an example, we will now find the area of this circle:

circle area

You can see that the radius of this circle is 3 cm. We put that number into our formula and we get:

A = π * 32

A = 9π cm

As before, you can opt to leave the result as it is or do the multiplication and get a completely numeric result.

More examples

Calculate the area of a circle whose circumference is 8π centimeters in length.

This example is a bit more complicated since it requires some thinking and a bit more calculation, but it is very simple to solve. First, we will write down the formula for the circumference and insert the values we know. This will allow us to calculate the radius of the circle.

C = 2 * r * π

8π = 2 * r * π |: 2π

r = 4 cm

                Now that we know the radius, we just have to insert it into the area formula and do the simple math.

A = π * r2

A = π * 42

A = 16π cm2

                Our solution is 16π cm2, or if we push it a bit further:

A = 50,3 cm2

These are the basic mathematical terms and concepts connected to circles. As we expand the base of knowledge here on MathX, we will add new information to this article as well. If you wish to practice what you learned about  the circle so far, please feel free to use the math worksheets below.

Circle exams for teachers

Exam Name File Size Downloads Upload date
Radius
Circles – Radius – very easy 257.1 kB 2673 September 3, 2019
Circles – Radius – easy 264.6 kB 2445 September 3, 2019
Circles – Radius – medium 528.8 kB 2940 September 3, 2019
Circles – Radius – hard 532.5 kB 2631 September 3, 2019
Circles – Radius – very hard 285.5 kB 2663 September 3, 2019
Diameter
Circles – Diameter – very easy 221.4 kB 2504 September 3, 2019
Circles – Diameter – easy 288 kB 2260 September 3, 2019
Circles – Diameter – medium 538.7 kB 2640 September 3, 2019
Circles – Diameter – hard 537.6 kB 2466 September 3, 2019
Circles – Diameter – very hard 532 kB 2468 September 3, 2019
Circumference
Circles – Circumference – very easy 221.4 kB 2504 September 3, 2019
Circles – Circumference – easy 288 kB 2260 September 3, 2019
Circles – Circumference – medium 535.9 kB 2832 September 3, 2019
Circles – Circumference – hard 534.6 kB 2447 September 3, 2019
Circles – Circumference – very hard 535.5 kB 2679 September 3, 2019
Area
Circles – Area – very easy 283 kB 2450 September 3, 2019
Circles – Area – easy 278.8 kB 2555 September 3, 2019
Circles – Area – medium 538.5 kB 2820 September 3, 2019
Circles – Area – hard 539.4 kB 2428 September 3, 2019
Circles – Area – very hard 545.4 kB 2574 September 3, 2019
Complete
Circles – Complete – very easy 267.1 kB 2653 September 3, 2019
Circles – Complete – easy 281.7 kB 2475 September 3, 2019
Circles – Complete – medium 538.5 kB 2820 September 3, 2019
Circles – Complete – hard 539.4 kB 2428 September 3, 2019
Circles – Complete – very hard 545.4 kB 2574 September 3, 2019

Circle worksheets for students

Worksheet Name File Size Downloads Upload date
Circles – Radius 8 MB 2782 September 3, 2019
Circles – Diameter 8.4 MB 2746 September 3, 2019
Circles – Circumference 45.9 kB 7307 September 3, 2019
Circles – Area 45.1 kB 3435 September 3, 2019