Quadrature of the lunes

A lune is the area left when part of a circle is cut off by another circle. Can you work out the area?
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Powerful Quadratics


This resource is from Underground Mathematics.

 

 



A lune is the area left when part of a circle is cut off by another circle, as in the following problems.  It is called a lune because it looks a bit like the moon.

 

 

  1. In the following figure, two semicircles have been drawn, one on the side $AB$ of the triangle, and the other on the side $AC$ of the triangle (with centre $O$).  What is the area of the blue (shaded) lune which is bounded by the two semicircles?
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    Quadrature of the lunes


    As a bonus, can you construct a square on the diagram with the same area as the blue lune, using only a straight edge (ruler) and compasses? This is called the quadrature (making into a square) of the lune.

     
  2. In the following figure, three semicircles have been drawn, one on each of the sides of the right-angled $6$-$8$-$10$ triangle.  What is the total area of the two coloured (shaded) lunes in the drawing?
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    Quadrature of the lunes

 

 

This is an Underground Mathematics resource.

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Visit the site at undergroundmathematics.org to find more resources, which also offer suggestions, solutions and teacher notes to help with their use in the classroom.