Express answer in exact form. Given a circle with an 8"radius, find the area of a smaller segment whose chord is 8" long.

Question

mathmale · Answer

Aha.  The diameter of this circle is 16".  The chord is 8" long.  Where would we find a formula that takes into account this 16" diameter and 8" long chord in finding the area cut off by the chord?

campbell_st · Answer

this question requires find the area of a triangle and a sector. 

the area of the segment = area of the sector - area of the triangle 

|dw:1399404712146:dw|

the area of the sector is 60/360 x area of the circle. 

the tiangle area can be found using the trig formula  1/2x 8 x 8 x sin(60)

hope it helps

mathmale · Answer

This is a really neat and accurate approach, @campbell_st!
@madison.bush:  I'd suggest you think about Campbell's statement that "this is an equilateral triangle."  How would we know that?
What kind of guidance would help you further in solving this problem?