Intercepted arc - Math Open Reference

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Intercepted Arc

From Latin: intercipere "take or seize between"

Definition: That part of a circle that lies between two lines that intersect it.

Try this Drag one of the orange dots that control the angle ∠AOB. The red arc is the arc intercepted by that angle.

When two straight lines cross a circle, the part of the circle between the intersection points is called the intercepted arc. The lines intercept, or 'cut off', the arc.

Usually the two lines are the arms of an angle, as in the figure above, but this is not always the case. For example, in the figure at right, two secant lines cut off, or intercept, two arcs, AB and CD.

Other circle topics

General

Equations of a circle

Angles in a circle

Arcs