Tutorials with detailed solutions to examples and matched exercises on finding equation of a circle, radius and center. Detailed
explanations are also provided.
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Examples with Detailed SolutionsExample 1Find the equation of a circle whose center is at (2, - 4) and radius 5.Solution to Example 1Substitute (h , k ) by (2 , - 4) and r by 5 in the standard equation to obtain(x - 2)2 + (y - (- 4))2 = 52 Simplify (x - 2)2 + (y + 4)2 = 25 Set h, k and r parameters into this applet and plot the circle. Verify graphically that the equation is that of the circle with the given center and radius. Matched Exercise 1 Find the equation of a circle whose center is at (2 , - 4) and radius 3. Example 2Find the equation of a circle that has a diameter with the endpoints given by the points A(-1 , 2) and B(3 , 2).Solution to Example 2The center C of the circle is the midpoint of the line segment making the diameter AB. We first use the midpoint formula to find the coordinates of C. C ( (-1 + 3) / 2 , (2 + 2) / 2) = C(1,2) The radius r is half the distance between A and B. Hence r = (1 / 2) √ ( [3 - (-1)]2 + [2 - 2]2 ) = (1/2)√(42 + 02) = 2 The coordinate of C and the radius r are used in the standard equation of the circle to obtain the equation: (x - 1)2 + (y - 2)2 = 22 Simplify (x - 1)2 + (y - 2)2 = 4 Set the h, k and r parameters into this applet and plot the circle. Verify graphically that the equation is that of a circle with the diameter as given above. Matched Exercise 2 Find the equation of a circle that has a diameter with the endpoints given by A(0 , -2) and B(0 , 2). Example 3Find the center and radius of the circle with equationx2 - 4x + y2 - 6y + 9 = 0 Solution to Example 3In order to find the center and the radius of the circle, we first rewrite the given equation into the standard form as given above in the definition. Put all terms with x and x2 together and all terms with y and y2 together using parentheses. (x2 - 4x) +( y2 - 6y) + 9 = 0 We now complete the square within the parentheses. (x2 - 4x + 4) - 4 + ( y2 - 6y + 9) - 9 + 9 = 0 Which may be written as. (x - 2)2 + ( y - 3)2 - 4 - 9 + 9 = 0 Simplify and write in standard form (x - 2)2 + ( y - 3)2 = 4 (x - 2)2 + ( y - 3)2 = 22 We now compare this equation and the standard equation to obtain. center at C(h , k) = C(2 , 3) and radius r = 2 Matched Exercise 1 Find the center and radius of the circle with equation x2 - 2x + y2 - 8y + 1 = 0 Example 4Is the point P(3 , 4) inside, outside or on the circle with equation(x + 2)2 + ( y - 3)2 = 9 Solution to Example 4We first find the distance from the center of the circle to point P. Using the given equation the center C is at (-2 , 3) and the radius r = √9 = 3 distance from C to P is equal to: √([3 - (-2)]2 + [4 - 3]2) = √(52 +12) = √(26) Since the distance from C to P is √(26) which approximately equal to 5.1 is greater than the radius r = 3, point P is outside the circle. You can check your answer graphically using this applet Matched Exercise 4 Is the point P(-1 , -3) inside, outside or on the circle with equation (x - 1)2 + ( y + 3)2 = 4 Example 5Find the equation of the circle such that the three points A(0 , 4), B(3 , 5) and D(7 , 3) are on the circle.Solution to Example 5
The distance from the center C(h , k) of the circle to each of the points A, B and D is constant and equal to the radius r of the circle. Write three equations stating that these distances are equal to the radius r.
Shown below is the graph of the circle with the three points. ![]() Find the equation of the circle such that the three points A(-5 , 0), B(1 , 0) and D(-2 , -3) are on the circle.
Example 6Find the equation of the circle that is tangent to the line whose equation is given by x + y = 2 and has its center at (3 , 5).Solution to Example 6The first step is to determine the point of tangency of the circle and the line x + y = 2. Use the property of the circles that a line through the center C of a circle and the point of tangency T (let us call this line CT) and the line x + y = 2 (let us call this line LT) tangent to the circle are perpendicular (see graph below). ![]() x + y = 2 y = - x + 2 m1 = -1 We now use the formula: m1 × m2 = - 1 to find the slope m2 of line CT. m2 = -1 / m1 = 1 The equation of the line CT which passes by the center C(3 , 5) is given by y - 5 = m2 (x - 3) y = x + 2 The point of tangency is the intersection of lines CT and LT and is found by solving the system of equations of the two lines. x + y = 2 y = x + 2 The point of tangency is at (0 , 2). The distance between the center of the circle and the point of tangency is equal to the radius r of the circle and is given by. r = √[ (3 - 0)2 + (5 - 2)2 ] = 3√(2) Let h and k be the x and y coordinates of the center of the circle and r it radius, the equation of the circle in standard form is given by: (x - h)2 + (y - k)2 = r2 (x - 3)2 + (y - 5)2 = (3 √(2))r2 (x - 3)2 + (y - 5)2 = 18 Shown below is the graph of the circle and the line x + y = 2 tangent to it. ![]() Find the equation of the circle that is tangent to the line whose equation is given by x + 2y = 2 and has its center at (0,5).
More References and links related to the equation of a circle.Find x and y intercepts of Circles - Calculator: A calculator to calculate the x and y intercepts of the graph of a circle given its center and radius. Find center and the radius of a Circle: Calculates the coordinates of the center and radius of a circle given its equation. Match Equations of Circles to Graphs. Excellent interactive activity where equations of circles are matched to graphs. Tutorials on equation of circle. Interactive tutorial on equation of circle. Three Points Circle Calculator. |