Question

What is the approximate perimeter of a semicircle with a radius of 8 m? Use pi star times = 3.14. Express your final answer to the nearest hundredth.

Answer 1

The perimeter of a semicircle consists of two parts. (the curve and bottom)
That curve is half the distance around the circle, since it's been split in half.
The distance around a circle, the circumfrence, is equal to 2πr, where r is the radius of that circle. In this case, the circumfrence of the entire circle would be 16π. and so that curve would have a length of just 8π.
Using 3.14 for π, 8π = 8×3.14 = 25.12.
As for the flat part, that is the diameter (distance across) our circle.
The radius is the distance from the center of a circle to its edge, and always has half the length of the diameter. (you can break the diameter down into two radii)
If our radius is 8 meters, our diameter (the flat part of that semicircle) must be 16.
Now we add up the two parts of the perimeter...25.12 + 16 = 41.12.