IT IS CONVENTIONAL to let the letter s (for space)

symbolize the length of an arc, which is

called arc length. We say in geometry that an arc
"subtends" an angle θ; literally, "stretches
under."
Now the circumference of a circle is an arc length.
And the ratio of the circumference to the diameter is
the basis of radian measure. That ratio is
the definition of π.
=C
π D
.
Since D = 2r, then
C
π = 2r
or,
C
=2
.
r π
That ratio -- 2π -- of the circumference of a circle
to the radius, is called the radian measure of
1 revolution, which are four right angles at the center.
The circumference subtends those four right angles.

s
Radian measure
of θ =
r
Thus the radian measure is based on ratios --
numbers -- that are actually found in the circle. The
radian measure is a real number that names the ratio
of a curved line to a straight, of an arc to the radius.
For, the ratio of s to r does determine a unique central
angle θ.

In any circles the same ratio of arc

Theore
length to radius
m.
determines a unique central angle
that the arcs subtend.

Proportionally,

if and only if
θ1 = θ2.
We will prove this theorem below.
4
Example 1. If s is 4 cm, and r is 5 cm, , i. s, is
then the number 5e. rthe
radian measure of the central angle.
At that central angle, the arc is four fifths of the
radius.
Example 2. An angle of .75 radians means that the
arc is three fourths of the radius. s = .75r
Example 3. In a circle whose radius is 10 cm, a
central angle θintercepts an arc of 8 cm.
a) What is the radian measure of that angle?
Answer. According to the definition:
s
θ =8 =
= 1 .8
r
0
b) At that same central angle θ, what is the arc length
if the radius is
b) 5 cm?

Answer. For a given central angle, the ratio of arc to

radius is the same. 5 is half of 10. Therefore the arc
length will be half of 8: 4cm.
Example 4.
a) At a central angle of 2.35 radians, what ratio has
the arc to the radius?
Answer. That number is the ratio. The arc is 2.35
times the radius.
b) In which quadrant of the circle does 2.35 radians
fall?
 π is half of that: 3
Answer. Since π = = 3.14 +
π
3.14, then 1.57. 1.57
2 2
= 4.71.
An angle of 2.35 radians, then, is greater than 1.57
but less that 3.14. It falls in the second quadrant.

s = rθ
c) If the radius is 10 cm, and the central angle is 2.35
radians, then how
c) long is the arc?
Answer. We let the definition of θ,
s
θ
=
r
become a formula for finding s :
s =
rθ
Therefore,
s = 10 × 2.35 = 23.5 cm
Because of the simplicity of that formula, radian
measure is used exclusively in theoretical
mathematics.

The unit circle

Since in any circle the same ratio of arc to radius
determines a uniqe central angle, then for theoretical
work we often use the unit circle, which is a circle of
radius 1: r = 1.

In the unit circle, the length of the arc s is equal to

the radian measure. The length of that arc is a real
number x.
s = rθ = 1· x = x.
We can identify radian measure, then, as the
length x of an arc of the unit circle. And it is here that
the term trigonometric "function" has its full meaning.
For, corresponding to each real number x -- each
radian measure, each arc -- there is a unique value of
sin x, of cos x, and so on. The definition of a function is
satisfied. (Topic 3 of Precalculus.)
Moreover, when we draw the graph of y =
sin x (Topic 19), we can imagine the unit circle rolled
out in both directions onto the x-axis, thus labeling
the x-axis.
Because radian measure can be identified as an arc,
the inverse trigonometric functions have their names.
"arcsin" is the arc -- the radian measure -- whose
sine is a certain number.

sin
The ratio x
x
 In the unit circle, the opposite side AB is sin x.
AB
sin x = 1 = AB.
sin
One of the main theorems in calculus fo
x
concerns the ratio x
r
very small values of x. And we can see that when the
point A on the circumference is very close to C -- that
is, when the central angle AOC is very, very small --
then the opposite side AB will be virtually
indistinguishable from the arc length AC. That is,
sin
x
x
sin
1
x
.
x
An angle of 1 radian
An angle of 1 radian refers to a central angle whose
subtending arc is equal in length to the radius.

That is often cited as the definition of radian

measure. Yet it remains to be proved that an arc
equal to the radius in one circle, will subtend the same
central angle as an arc equal to the radius in another
circle. We cannot avoid the main theorem.
 In addition, although it is possible to define an
"angle of 1 radian," does such an angle actually exist?
Is it possible to draw one -- a curved line equal to a
straight line? Or is that but another example of fantasy
mathematics?
See First Principles of Euclid's Elements, Commentary
on the Definitions; see in particular that a definition
isnominal; it asserts only how a word or a name will
be used, it does not assert that what has been
definedexists.

Problem 1.
a) At a central π, approximately what ratio has
angle of the arc to the
5
a) radius? Take π 3.
π . Taking π 3, then
The radian measure is that ratio
the
5
arc is approximately three fifths of the radius.
b) If the radius is 15 cm, approximately how long is
the arc?
s = rθ 15 3
= 9 cm
·
5

Problem 2. In a circle whose radius is 4 cm, find the

arc length intercepted by each of these angles. Again,
take π 3.
π
3 = 3 cm
s = rθ 4·
a) 4
4
π
s = rθ 4 3 = 4· ½ = 2
b) · 6 cm
6
3 s = rθ 4 3· = 9 = 2· 9 = 18
c) π · 3 4· cm
2 2
 2
d) 2π. (Here, the arc length is the entire
circumference!)
s = rθ = 4· 2π 4· 6 = 24
cm

Problem 3. In which quadrant of the circle does

each angle, measured in radians, fall? (See
the figure above.)

a) 2 radians are more πbut less than π. (See

θ=2 than the
2
figure above.) Therefore, θ = 2 falls in the
second quadrant.
3
b) 5 radians are more but less than 2π. (See
θ=5 than π the
2
figure above.) Therefore, θ = 5 falls in the
fourth quadrant.
c) θ =
14 radians are more than 2 revolutions, but slightly
14
less than 2¼: 6.28 + 6.28 = 12.56. (See
the figureabove.) Therefore, θ = 14 falls in
the first quadrant.

Proof of the theorem

In any circles, the same ratio of arc
length to radius
determines a unique central angle that
the arcs subtend,
and equal central angles determine the
same ratio of arc
length to radius.
 Proportionally,

if and only if
θ1 = θ2.
For,

if and only if

Now 2πr is the circumference of each circle. And

each circumference is an "arc" that subtends four right
angles at the center.

But in the same circle, arcs have the same ratio to one
another as the central angles they subtend. (Theorem
16.) Therefore,

and
Therefore, according to line (1),

if and only if
θ1 = θ2.
Therefore, the same ratio of arc length to radius
determines a unique central angle that the arcs
subtend. Which is what we wanted to prove.