Finding Chord length given arc length and arc height?

[tomadom]

I am in the process of making a tent and need to get two curved surfaces to meet.
I need to find the length of a Chord of a circle given that I have the Arc length and Arc Height (that's all), no radius or anything else.

I suspect that I will need a radius to find this. Or am I missing a point here?

The below spreadsheet I found on the web proports to be able to do this but the answer is not correct. The edges of my material does not match up when I calculate the Chord length given that I've entered the Arc Length and the Arc Height.

Does anyone know how to do this?
Thanks

http://mathforum.org/dr.math/gifs/ChordMath.xls

 

[jvicens]

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to the scientific community for help with your tent project. It sounds like you are trying to create a curved surface for your tent and are struggling to find the correct length for the chord of the circle.

You are correct in thinking that you will need to know the radius of the circle in order to find the chord length. The radius is an essential component of any circle and is necessary for calculating the chord length. Without it, the calculation will not be accurate.

In the spreadsheet you found on the web, it is likely that the incorrect answer is due to the fact that the radius was not included in the calculation. I would recommend finding the radius of your circle and then using the formula for chord length, which is: chord length = 2 * radius * sin(arc length/2).

I hope this helps with your project and please let us know if you have any further questions. Good luck with your tent!