A Visual Introduction to Radians

A radian is a unit of angular measure used in mathematics. In Year 11 Mathematics Advanced, students are learning to use both degrees and radians when working with angles.

To explore the concept of radians, students in 11MAAD1 engaged in a hands-on activity inspired by the blog Math = Love. First, they measured the radius of their circle. Then, using yarn, they marked an arc that is equal in length to the radius. By doing so, they had constructed an angle at the centre of the circle that is one radian. Finally, students used their creativity to decorate their circles, transforming their learning into colourful artworks.

This activity helped bring abstract mathematics to life and sparked some impressive artistic results along the way!