The radius of a circle is the distance from the center of the circle to any point at the outer edge of a circle.
The distance must be measured along a straight line, similar to what you would get if you used a ruler, connected 2 dots together, and then measured the distance between both dots.
This is what you are being asked to do when you are measuring two of the main characteristics of a circle: the radius, and a distance called the Diameter. It's as easy as that.
The real-world applications related to these two measurements are infinite and fascinating!
Examples:
Below are a few examples of real-world uses applied to circles; which viewed in 3D, are called Spheres; in order to deleniate between the two views of a Circle (2D) and a Sphere (3D).
The radius of the Earth is approximately 4,000 miles.
The diameter of Earth is approximately 8,000 miles.
The Circumference of the Earth is approximately 25,132 miles.
A Radius =
the distance from the center of the tire to the outer edge.
A Diameter =
the distance across the tire measured from one side to the opposite side, by measuring through the center of the tire where the hubcap would be.
A Circumference =
the measurement around the tire. This is best accomplished using a tape measure because it can be wrapped around the outside portion of the tire referred to as the tread (the part of the tire that touches the road) to make the measurement.
The Singapore Flyer is the second largest Ferris Wheel in the world.
Radius = 270.5 feet
Diameter = 541 feet
Circumference = 1700 feet
The world's largest Ferris Wheel,
The High Roller,
is in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It has a height of 550 feet.
Radius = 275 feet
Diameter = 550 feet
Circumference = 1728 feet
The second image is a Coca-Cola can in China, which is pretty cool to see.
Radius =
Diameter =
Circumference =