Secant line 3-secants of a finite set of points. Finiteness of the set of points is not essential in this definition, as long as each line can intersect the set in only a finite number of points. Secant line In geometry, a secant of a curve is a line that intersects the curve in at least two (distinct) points. The word "secant" comes from the Latin word "secare", meaning "to cut". In the case of a circle, a secant will intersect the circle in exactly two points and a chord is the line segment determined by these two points, that is the
Measurement of a Circle two legs being "c" and "r". This proposition is proved by the method of exhaustion. Proposition two states: The area of a circle is to the square on its diameter as 11 to 14. This proposition could not have been placed by Archimedes, for it relies on the outcome of the third proposition. Proposition three states: The ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter is greater than formula_1 but less than formula_2. This approximates what we now call the mathematical constant π. He found these bounds on the value of π by inscribing and circumscribing a circle