TOPICS
Search

Apothem


Apothem

Given a circle, the apothem is the perpendicular distance r from the midpoint of a chord to the circle's center. It is also equal to the radius R minus the sagitta h,

 r=R-h.

For a regular polygon, the apothem simply is the distance from the center to a side, i.e., the inradius r of the polygon.


See also

Chord, Circular Sector, Circular Segment, Inradius, Radius, Regular Polygon, Sagitta

Explore with Wolfram|Alpha

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Apothem." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Apothem.html

Subject classifications