🚀 go-pugleaf

First off....
I am new to the Adobe suite of applications and also new to owning a Macbook Pro. I have been using a design program for Windows for many years.

I would like to master the creation and manipulation of shapes using Illustrator CS4.

As one example, how would I create the following:

I want to end up with a shape that is similar to one-quarter of a full moon.

Using my Windows program (not an Adobe product), I would create a line using a line tool, and then I would be able to convert that line to a curve using a shape tool, which would enable me to drag from the midpoint of the line and have it become an arc. Then, while still using the shape tool, I could click once to select one of the endpoint nodes to then click on an "auto-close" option which would add a straight-line edge to close the shape for outline and fill purposes (so one side of the shape is straight at this point and the other side is curved). Using the shape tool, I would double-click near the midpoint of the straight edge to add a new node to the shape, and then I would use the "convert to curve" option from within the shape tool to be able to drag this straight side towards the curved side to end up with the quarter-moon shape as desired.

How would I make this sort of shape using Illustrator, and as a general question for learning, how can I learn all about how to put lines in the design space for purposes of joining these lines, curving any part of one or more lines and then filling or outlining the finished shape made from joined lines?