Find the area of a sector of a circle of radius 6 cm with a central angle of 60 degrees.

Answer: The area of the sector is 6π cm26\pi \text{ cm}^2.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1: Identify Given Values

We are given the radius of the circle, rr, as 6 cm, and the central angle of the sector, θ\theta, as 60 degrees. These are the key values needed to calculate the area of the sector.

Step 2: Convert Angle to Radians (Optional but good practice)

While the formula for the area of a sector can use degrees, it's often good practice to convert the angle to radians, especially for other formulas involving arc length or angular velocity. To convert degrees to radians, we multiply by π180∘\frac{\pi}{180^\circ}.

Step 3: Apply Area of Sector Formula

The formula for the area of a sector when the angle is in degrees is given by θ360∘×πr2\frac{\theta}{360^\circ} \times \pi r^2. This formula essentially calculates the fraction of the total circle's area that the sector occupies.

Step 4: Substitute Values and Calculate

Substitute the given values of θ=60∘\theta = 60^\circ and r=6 cmr = 6 \text{ cm} into the formula. Simplify the fraction 60360\frac{60}{360} to 16\frac{1}{6} and calculate 62=366^2 = 36. Finally, multiply these values to get the area.

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