SSAT Upper Level Math : How to find the area of a circle

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SSAT Upper Level Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #11 : Area And Circumference Of A Circle

Give the area of a circle that circumscribes a right triangle with legs of length  and .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If a right triangle is inscribed inside a circle, then the arc intercepted by the right angle is a semicircle, making the hypotenuse of triangle a diameter. 

The length of the hypotenuse of this triangle can be calculated using the Pythagorean Theorem:

The radius is half this, or 13, so the area is

Example Question #11 : Area And Circumference Of A Circle

 central angle of a circle has a chord with length . Give the area of the circle.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The figure below shows , which matches this description, along with its chord  and triangle bisector 

 

 Chord

We will concentrate on , which is a 30-60-90 triangle.

Chord  has length 15, so 

By the 30-60-90 Theorem, 

and 

This is the radius, so the area is

Example Question #1 : Area Of A Circle

What is the area of a circle that has a diameter of inches?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for finding the area of a circle is . In this formula, represents the radius of the circle.  Since the question only gives us the measurement of the diameter of the circle, we must calculate the radius.  In order to do this, we divide the diameter by .

Now we use for in our equation.

 

Example Question #1 : Area Of A Circle

What is the area of a circle with a diameter equal to 6?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First, solve for radius:

Then, solve for area:

Example Question #11 : How To Find The Area Of A Circle

The diameter of a circle is . Give the area of the circle.

 

 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The area of a circle can be calculated using the formula:

,

where is the diameter of the circle, and is approximately .

Example Question #2 : Area Of A Circle

The diameter of a circle is . Give the area of the circle in terms of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The area of a circle can be calculated using the formula:

,

where   is the diameter of the circle and is approximately .

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Area Of A Circle

The radius of a circle is  . Give the area of the circle.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The area of a circle can be calculated as , where   is the radius of the circle, and is approximately .

Example Question #3 : How To Find The Area Of A Circle

The perpendicular distance from the chord to the center of a circle is , and the chord length is . Give the area of the circle in terms of .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Chord length = , where   is the radius of the circle and   is the perpendicular distance from the chord to the circle center. 

Chord length = 

 

, where   is the radius of the circle and is approximately .

 

Example Question #3 : Area Of A Circle

The circumference of a circle is inches. Find the area of the circle.

Let .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

First we need to find the radius of the circle. The circumference of a circle is , where is the radius of the circle. 

 

The area of a circle is where   is the radius of the circle.

Example Question #12 : How To Find The Area Of A Circle

Find the area of a circle with a radius of 100.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Write the formula for a circle.

Substitute the radius.

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