Final answer:
The area of the circle is obtained by multiplying the given sector's area by 4 since the sector represents ⅔ of the circle's area. The full circle's area is therefore 28 square inches.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the area of the entire circle when given the area of a sector, we must first understand the relationship between the sector and the full circle. The sector's central angle of 90° is ⅔ of 360°, which means the sector is ⅔ of the full circle's area. Given the sector's area is 7 square inches, we can set up a proportion where 7 square inches is to ⅔ as the full circle's area (A) is to 1 (the whole circle).
⅔ : 7 = 1 : A
To solve for A, we multiply both sides of the equation by 4:
A = 7 × 4
A = 28
So, the area of the circle is 28 square inches.