# Area of a circle

I've tried to find as a personnal exercise where the formula $A=\pi R^2$ comes from.

After drawing the problem, I've found that $A = 2\int\limits_{-R}^{R}\sqrt{R^2-t^2}dt$. How can I calculate this ?

-
You mean $\pi R^2$. –  Álvaro Lozano-Robledo Feb 22 '12 at 19:59
You could try the substitution $t = R \cos(\theta)$. Do you know how to compute $\int \sin^2(\theta) d\theta$? Also, this should be tagged as calculus or geometry, not algebraic-geometry. (And, as mentioned above, you should correct the area formula.) –  Michael Joyce Feb 22 '12 at 20:00
1) The area of a circle is $0$. You are computing the area of a disc. 2) Your integral is off by a factor $2$ (it gives only the area of a half-disc). –  D. Thomine Feb 22 '12 at 20:05
Exactly @ÁlvaroLozano-Robledo, sorry for the little mistake... Michael, okay I'll try this way, thank you. Thomine : I forgot to write it but I had noticed it, thank you. –  Skydreamer Feb 22 '12 at 20:06
Depending on how one handles the basics, the proof may unfortunately be a little $\dots$ circular. The usual first-year calculus proof of the fact that $\lim_{x\to 0}\frac{\sin x}{x}=1$ uses the area of the circle. From the limit calculation comes the derivative of $\sin x$, and hence the integral of $\cos^2 x$. –  André Nicolas Feb 22 '12 at 21:44

This is a classic case of trigonometric substitution. Set $t=R\sin\theta$, $-\frac{\pi}{2}\leq \theta\leq\frac{\pi}{2}$.

Then $R^2 - t^2 = R^2(1-\sin^2\theta) = R^2\cos^2\theta$, hence $\sqrt{R^2-t^2} = \sqrt{R^2\cos^2\theta} = |R\cos\theta| = R\cos\theta$, because $R\geq 0$ and $\cos\theta\geq 0$ for $\theta\in[-\frac{\pi}{2},\frac{\pi}{2}]$.

Since $t=R\sin\theta$, $dt = R\cos\theta\,d\theta$. When $t=-R$, we have $\theta=-\frac{\pi}{2}$; when $t=R$, we have $\theta=\frac{\pi}{2}$. So we get $$\int_{-R}^R\sqrt{R^2-t^2}\,dt = \int_{-\frac{\pi}{2}}^{\frac{\pi}{2}}R\cos^2\theta\,d\theta.$$

Now you can use the formula $$\int \cos^2\theta\,d\theta = \frac{1}{2}\theta + \frac{1}{2}\sin\theta\cos\theta+C$$ (which can be found by using integration by parts, then replacing $\sin^2\theta$ with $1-\cos^2\theta$, and "solving" for the integral of the cosine squared) to get the desired result.

-
Thank you for your answer ! –  Skydreamer Feb 22 '12 at 20:11

Pie r ssqure is the given formulae 1. So we divide the circle into sectors and then we hold the height as h and bas as d and then we calculate the area 2. We cna didive the circles into many triangles and then calculate the formulae with the nth term and holding height as h and base as and do the summation by the following summation of x(let the total circle be x)=x1+x2+x3+x4..........nth term

-
nice help for the starting –  samriddha biswas Jun 13 '13 at 5:28