Name: ___________________________________________

Subject: Preparatory to Calculus

MELC: Define Circle and Graph a Circle Given an Equation in Center-Radius Form
Duration: One Week
Level: (/) Beginner, ( ) Intermediate, ( ) Advanced

DEFINE A CIRCLE
A circle is easy to make: Draw a curve that is "radius" away from a central point.
And so: All points are the same distance from the center.
In fact, the definition of a circle is
Circle: The set of all points on a plane that are a fixed distance from a
center.

Graph a Circle Given an Equation in Center-Radius Form

The Center-Radius Rorm of the circle equation is in the format (x – h)2 + (y – k)2 = r2, with the
center being at the point (h, k) and the radius being "r". This form of the equation is helpful since
you can easily find the center and the radius.
Graphing a circle anywhere on the coordinate plane is easy when its equation appears in center-
radius form. All you do is plot the center of the circle at (h, k), and then count out from the center r
units in the four directions (up, down, left, right). Then, connect those four points with a nice,
round circle.

On a graph, all those points on the circle can be determined and plotted using (x, y
coordinates.

CIRCLE EQUATIONS

Two expressions show how to plot a circle: the center-radius form and the standard form. Where
x and y are the coordinates for all the circle's points, h and k represent the center point's x and y
values, with r as the radius of the circle
 Center-Radius Form
The center-radius form looks like this:

Standard Equation of a Circle

The standard, or general, form requires a bit more work than the center-radius form to derive
and graph. The standard form equation looks like this:

Expression to plot a circle:

→ the general form is x2 + y2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0
In the general form, D, E, and F are given values, like integers, that are
coefficients of the x and y values.

Using the Center-Radius Form

If you are unsure that a suspected formula is the equation needed to graph a circle, you can test it.
It must have four attributes:
1. The x and y terms must be squared
2. All terms in the expression must be positive (which squaring the values in parenthesis
will accomplish}
3. The center point is given as (h, k), the x and y coordinates.
4. The value for r, radius, must be given and must be a positive number (which makes
common sense: you cannot have a negative radius measure)
The center-radius form gives away a lot of information to the trained eye. By grouping the h value
with the x (x – h)2, the form tells you the x coordinate of the circle’s center. The same holds for the k
value; it must be the y coordinate for the center of your circle.
Once you ferret out the circle's center point coordinates, you can then determine the circle's radius,
r. In the equation, you may not see r2, but a number, the square root of which is the actual radius.
With luck, the squared r value will be a whole number, but you can still find the square root of
decimals using a calculator.

Let us have a Practical Test on Center-Radius Form.

Try these seven equations to see if you can recognize the center-radius form. Which
ones are center-radius, and which are just line or curve equations?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Only equations 1, 3, 5 and 6 are center-radius forms. The second equation graphs a straight
line; the fourth equation is the familiar slope-intercept form; the last equation graphs a parabola.

How To Graph a Circle Equation?

A circle can be thought of as a graphed line that curves in both its x and y values. This may
sound obvious, but consider this equation: y = x2 + 4
 Here the x value alone is squared, which means we will get a curve, but only a curve going up
and down, not closing back on itself. We get a parabolic curve, so it heads off past the top of our
grid, its two ends never to meet or be seen again.
Introduce a second x-value exponent, and we get more lively curves, but they are, again, not
turning back on themselves.
The curves may snake up and down the y-axis as the line moves across the x-axis, but the
graphed line is still not returning on itself like a snake biting its tail.
To get a curve to graph as a circle, you need to change both the x exponent and the y
exponent. As soon as you take the square of both x and y values, you get a circle coming back unto
itself!
Often the center-radius form does not include any reference to measurement units like mm,
m, inches, feet, or yards. In that case, just use single grid boxes when counting your radius units.

Center At The Origin

When the center point is the origin (0, 0) of the graph,
the center-radius form is greatly simplified:

For example, a circle with a radius of 7 units and a center at (0, 0)

looks like this as a formula and a graph:
x2 + y2 = 49

How to Graph A Circle Using Standard Form?

If your equation is in standard or general form, you must first complete the square and
then work it into center-radius form. Suppose you have this equation:

x2 + y2 – 8x + 6y = 4
Rewrite the equation so that all your x-terms are in the first parenthesis and y-terms are in the
second:

Your have isolated the constant to the right and added the values ?1 and ?2 to both sides. The
values ?1 and ?2 are each the number you need in each group to complete the square.
Take the coefficient of x and divide by 2. Square it. That is your new value for ? 1:

-6/2 = - 4
(- 4)2 = 16
?1 = 16
Repeat this for the value to be found with the y-terms:

6/2 - 3
32 = 9
?2 = 9
Replace the unknown values ?1 and ?2 in the equation with the newly calculated values:

(x2 – 8x + 16) + (y2 + 6y + 9) = 4 + 16 + 9

(x2 – 8x + 16) + (y2 + 6y + 9) = 29
(x – 4)2 + (y + 3)2 = 29
You now have the center-radius form for the graph. You can plug the values in to find this circle
with center point (- 4, 3) and a radius of 5.385 units (the square root of 29):
Let us find more about a Circle and Graph the same with the Given Equation:

Let us put a circle of radius 5 on a graph:

Now let's work out exactly where all the points are.
We make a right-angled triangle:
And then use Pythagoras:

x2 + y2 = 52
There are an infinite number of those points, here are some examples:

We can use that idea to find a missing value

More General Case
Now let us put the center at (a, b)
So the circle is all the points (x, y) that are "r" away from the
center (a, b).

Now let us work out where the points are (using a right-angled
triangle and Pythagoras):

It is the same idea as before, but we need to subtract a and b:

(x - a)2 + (y - b)2 = r2
And that is the "Standard Form" for the equation of a circle!
It shows all the important information at a glance: the center (a, b) and the radius r.

Example: A circle with center at (3, 4) and a radius of 6:

"General Form"

How to
Plot a
Circle on
the
Computer
We need to
rearrange the
formula so we get "y=".

We should end up with two equations (top and bottom of circle) that can then be plotted.
EXERCISES:
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Direction: Choose the correct answer among those given below each question. Write only
the letter of the correct answer.

Example # 1:

Given: (x + 11)2 + (y − 9)2 = 16

Req’d: What is the equation of the circle in General Form?
Solution:
(x + 11)2 + (y − 9)2 = 16
⇒ x2 + 22x + 121 + y2 − 18y + 81 = 16
⇒ x2 + y2 + 22x − 18y + 202 = 16
⇒ x2 + y2 + 22x − 18y + 186 = 0
So, the answer is letter D
Example # 2:
Write down the equation of the circle in General Form.

Given: By inspection the radius is 4 and its center is at (0, 0).

Req’d: Find out the equation of the circle in General Form.
Solution:

So, the answer is letter B.

Example # 3:

Given: center of circle is (3, - 5)

Point (-1, -8) lies on the circumference of the circle
Req’d: What is the equation of the circle in Standard Form?
Solution:
 So, the answer is letter A.

Example # 4:

Given: the general form of the circle is x2 + y2 + 8x − 12y + 27 = 0

Req’d: What is the center of the circle given its general form?
Solution:
 The answer is letter C.

Example # 5:

Given: the General Form of the equation of a circle is x 2 + y2 − 16x + 8y = 0

Req’d: Write the equation in Standard Form.
Solution:

So, the
answer is letter A.

Example # 5:
 Given: Standard form formula of a circle (x − 5)2 + (y + 3)2 = 49.
Req’d: What is the center of the circle?
Solution:

So,
the answer is letter B.

ASSESSMENT
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Direction: Choose the correct answer among those given below each question. Write only the letter of the
correct answer. Also, screenshot your way of solving the problem and submit it to your subject teacher.
1.

2.
3.

4.

4.

5.
Reference:
https://tutors.com/math-tutors/geometry-help/how-to-graph-a-circle#circle-equations