An arc is the portion of the curve or part of a circumference. All round bodies and shapes have a curve thus constitutes the arc. The technically termed arc is the curved part of all round shapes. The arc length is a frequently used measure in geometry for necessary calculations.
In the article below we will explore what is arc length, its formula, how to find arc length of a circle with a calculator and manually as well.
What is arc length?
An arc’s length indicates always signifies the same length the word length means, like a rope’s length and of course with an arc, that would be a curved rope. The distance measurement along the circle’s circumference forming an arc is known as the arc length.
Thus the length of the arc is the longitude of a circumference of an arc or part of a circle. The length of arc is best described as the distance of any circumference or curve (arc). Moreover, in comparison to the straight line distance between endpoints or chord the arc length is longer.
The arc length and degree arc measure are directly connected with each other. Make sure that the arc length is not confused with the arc measure, circumference, the arc measure however is the central angle’s degree size. circumference is a totally different concept. You can calculate circumference with an online circumference calculator.
How to find the arc length of a circle?
In order to find the measurement of the arc circle length, you have to discover the fraction of the entire circle, which is being represented as the arc.
From every angle a circle is 360°, therefore if you divide the degree measurement of an arc by 360°, you will discover the portion of the circumference that the arc forms. Subsequently, if you multiply by that fraction the length around the circle, you obtain the length along the arc.
Arc length formula
The length of an arc, based on the unit of the central angle of the arc, may be computed using several formulae. The center angle measurements might be in degrees or radians and correspondingly the arc length of a circle is calculated.
However, the precise arc length using the measurement of the central angle in degrees or radians and the complete circumference can be calculated using the formulas:
Arc length = S = r θ
or
Arc length = 2πr * C/360 (for degrees)
Arc length = r * C (for radians)
In the above given formulas, the value of pie (π) is 3.14, whereas the θ represents the angle in degrees. Moreover, the r stands for the radius of the circle, C stands for
How to find arc length with a calculator?
Instead of performing complex calculations and remembering tricky formulas for calculating the arc length, it is convenient to find it using online calculator. Using arc length calculator, you don’t have to run into all such calculations.
You simply need to enter the values in their responding places and click calculate in order to find the arc length with calculator. However, a few steps required to calculate length of the arc are mentioned below:
- Enter Central Angle
The main value you needed in order to calculate your circle’s arc length is the central angle. You must enter it in the first column accurately and make sure the correct angle is entered.
- The Diameter or the Radius
Secondly, you have two options to complete your arc length calculation. You can either enter the diameter or radius of your circle. If you know any of the two values, the other one will be automatically filled in there.
- Calculate
As a last step, click the “Calculate” option and the arc length of your circle comprising the entered central angle and diameter or radius will be displayed to you.