ACT-Style: Composite Shape Area

ACT Math · Axiom Academy

EXAMPLE ACT-Style Composite Shape Area Break a shaded region into simple shapes, then subtract to find its area. A circle with radius 7 cm is inscribed in a square. What is the area of the shaded region between the circle and the square? Use . Nice work — you found a shaded area by subtracting one shape from another instead of trying to measure the odd region directly. Subtraction method: Shaded area = outer shape - inner shape. The ACT's shaded-region problems are almost always this pattern. Read the inscribed relationship: A circle inscribed in a square has diameter equal to the side, so . Leave answers in terms of until you check the choices — only approximate with if the choices are decimals.

This is the written version of the interactive lesson above. See the full ACT Math course.