To find the area of a circle, we use the formula:
\[ \text{Area} = \pi r^2 \]
where \( r \) is the radius of the circle. The radius is half of the diameter. Given that the diameter is 26 cm, we can calculate the radius:
\[ r = \frac{26 \text{ cm}}{2} = 13 \text{ cm} \]
Now, substituting the radius into the area formula:
\[ \text{Area} = \pi (13 \text{ cm})^2 \] \[ \text{Area} = \pi \times 169 \text{ cm}^2 \] \[ \text{Area} \approx 3.14 \times 169 \text{ cm}^2 \quad (\text{using } \pi \approx 3.14) \] \[ \text{Area} \approx 530.06 \text{ cm}^2 \]
Rounding to the nearest whole number, the area of the circle is:
\[ \text{Area} \approx 530 \text{ cm}^2 \]
Thus, the area of the circle is approximately 530 cm².