Teacher: Shuji Miller

Date: 11/29/2020

Subject / Grade Level: Geometry (9th or 10th grade)

Materials:
• Equation of a Circle Investigation Sheet
• Chromebooks
• Geogebra.com/geometry application

DoDEA Essential Standards:

G-GPE.A.1 - Translate between the geometric description and the equation for a conic section 1. Derive the equation
of a circle of given center and radius using the Pythagorean Theorem; complete the square to find the center and radius
of a circle given by an equation.

Lesson objective(s): Students will

• Use technology to construct segments of a right triangle on a coordinate plane, and apply apply the
Pythagorean Theorem to evaluate the lengths of right triangles.
• Understand the connections between the Pythagorean Theorem and the equation of a circle through the
use of geometric constructions with mathematical action technologies.
• Derive the equation of a circle given any center point and radius.
• Sketch a circle on a coordinate plane given the equation of a circle.

Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs:

• Students will individually have their own laptop to conduct the investigation, though they will work in pre-
determined small-groups to provide collaborative assistance on technology help.
• Students will be provided with both verbal, written, and pictorial queues for instruction throughout the task.
• Students can make use of graphing technologies and concrete graphs to assist in the problem-solving.

ENGAGEMENT:

(Full Class)
• Show the YouTube video titled “Standard Equation of Circle | Conic Sections | Don't Memorize” STOP THE
VIDEO AT 1:45 sec.
o Link: https://youtu.be/cyKFBmTjyio
o Students will watch the video and spend
(Small Group of 4)
• Have students within their small-group discuss different elements of a circle they have learned.
• The goal of this discussions is to have students think about the importance of being able to describe circles
both geometrically and algebraically.
• Within the small groups, have students discuss various things about the circle for 5 minutes. Then reconvene
to have students share what they discussed.
• As students discuss, probe their thinking further using some provocative questions such as:
o “Why do you think it’s important for us to represent or describe a circle in multiple ways? What ways
or how can we describe a circle?”
o “What are some things you know about a circle already?”
o “What are various characteristics of a circle?” (Make sure they use specific vocabulary).
o “How do we describe a circle?”

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 o “What elements of the circle do we need to know in order to describe a specific circle geometrically?”
o “What elements of the circle do you think we need to know in order to describe a specific circle
algebraically?”
(Full Group):
• Have students share their ideas about the importance, methods, and ideas they may have about how to describe
a circle.
EXPLORATION (Task is attached)
(Small Group of 4)
• Pass out the Student Investigation Sheet on the Equation of a Circle. Signal students to begin working on the
investigation. As students work, circulate among groups and ask questions to probe into their thinking:
• Phase 1 & 2 Questions:
o What do you notice about this circle?
o What do you notice about the triangle you are drawing?
o What kind of relationships do you see between your two shapes?
o Do you think this relationship will be true for any circle and triangle?
o How are you going about finding the lengths of your triangle?
• Phase 3 Questions:
o What do you notice about this circle?
o What do you notice about the triangle you’re drawing?
o How is this similar or different to Part 2?
o How does your construction compare to your group members?
o How did you go about selecting your coordinates for the vertices of your triangle?
o How are you going about finding the lengths of your triangle?
o Will this approach work for all triangles?
o How can we represent these triangles algebraically?
• Phase 4 Questions:
o What do you notice about this circle?
o How are you going about constructing your triangle?
o How is this different than our previous problems?
o How does your construction compare to your group members?
o How do you think this will affect the equation of your circle?
o Is there a relationship between your coordinates and the lengths of your triangle? Can you describe it?
o What role do you think the elements of these triangles play in your equation?
o How can we represent these triangles algebraically?
o Will this work for all triangles?
o What would happen if you select a point horizontal or vertical to your center?

EXPLANATION
(Full Class)
• As students approach the end of their investigation, assign a particular phase for each group to discuss and
present to the whole class using the screen share feature. Each group will present their method of
constructions and conjectures they formed during their conjectures.
• Phase 1 & 2 Questions:
o Can you walk us through what you did in your group?
o Does everyone’s figure look like this?
o Did anyone do anything different?
o What did you all notice about the triangle?
o What observations did you make about the relationship between the triangle and circle?
o How are the lengths of your triangle related?
o Describe what happened when you moved the point from (3,4) to another point on the circle?
o Would this work for any triangle?

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 o How would this effect your equation of the triangle?
• Phase 3 Questions: (Have two different groups present this task)
o Can you walk us through what you did in your group?
o Does everyone’s figure look like this?
o Did anyone do anything different? (Students will most likely choose different points on the circle).
o How is this similar or different than our last problem?
o How is student1’s triangle different than student2’s triangle?
o Does this effect the equation of our triangle?
o How are the equations similar?
o If I didn’t know the side lengths of your triangle, how would I go about expressing this as an
equation?
o How did you go about finding the equation of your circle?
o How does this relate to the Pythagorean Theorem?
o Move to the general case (see worksheet)
• Phase 4 Questions: (Have two different groups present this task)
o Can you walk us through what you did in your group?
o Does everyone’s figure look like this?
o Did anyone do anything different? (Students will most likely choose different points on the circle).
o How is student 1’s triangle different than student 2’s triangle?
o How is this circle different than our last?
o Does this effect the equation of our circle? If so, how?
o How did you figure out the sides of your triangle? (Have students reflect on Phase 2)
o How did you go about finding your equation?
o Did any group conclude anything different?
o What can we say about the relationship between the circle and the equation of a right triangle?

ELABORATION
(Small Group of 4)
• Students will engage in Phase 5 of the activity, in which students will construct a circle, write an equation, and
apply contextual meaning to the task:
• Phase 5 Activity:
o Using the graph paper provided, you will each draw a circle on your graph using a compass. Make
sure to plot and label the center point, and a point on the circle that is NOT vertical or horizontal of
your center.
o Pass your paper clockwise in your group. The next group member will construct a right triangle using
the points and label the lengths of all three sides of your triangle.
o Pass your paper clockwise and look at the constructions. Using the information from your last 2
group mates, write the equation of each circle.
o Pass your paper clockwise one last time. Look at the work and the equation, and double check it for
errors. If you have questions, consult with your groupmates about their work. Then, create a word
problem in which the work would be your solution. The solution to your word problem could be the
graph, the equation, or other elements of your circle.
• Have 4 or 5 students present their problem and solution to the class, and discuss application and solution
methods.
o Compare similarities and differences in student problems.
o What is the goal of the problem?
o How might we use this in the real world?
o What elements of the circle are we finding/given? (Attend to specific vocabulary such as center,
radius, circumference, distance, hypotenuse, etc.)
EVALUATION
• Students in each phase will have an opportunity to formalize their ideas on the investigation paper.

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• Students will then be evaluated based on the discussions and formative assessments throughout class.
• Students will be further evaluated through their presentation.
• Students will be evaluated through the accuracy, application, and justifications behind their constructed
problems in the Elaboration phase.
• Students will then be assigned an exit-slip to complete within their math journal to formalize their evaluation
of their learning. (See activity for assessment)

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Name:____________________________Date:_________________________Block:____________
Equation of a Circle Investigation:

Phase 1: (Set Up)

1) Log in to your computer and go to: https://www.geogebra.org/geometry
Click the icon in the upper right corner.
2) Select “Show Axis”
Click the icon again and select “Show Grid” → “Major Gridlines”
Phase 2:
3) In your Basic Toolbar on the left, select the Circle Graphing Tool

4) Click on the origin to place the center of your circle at (0,0) and drag the circle drawing a
circle with a radius of 5.
5) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Point Tool.

6) Place point C on your circle at the coordinate (3,0).

7) Place another point, point D at the coordinate (3,4).
8) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Segment Tool.

a. Using the Segment Tool, connect the origin, (3,0) and (3,4) to form a triangle.
b. Make some observations about this triangle.
9) General Observations:

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

10) What are the side lengths of this triangle? _____________________________

11) If the legs of your right triangle are represented by a & b, and your hypotenuse, c, write
the lengths of legs a and b as an equation using the coordinates.

a= _________________________ b= __________________________

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 12) How does the hypotenuse your triangle relate to your circle?

_______________________________________________________________________
13) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Arrow or “Move” Tool.

14)Drag Point C(3, 0) and move it to (2, 0).

15) Drag Point D(3, 4) so that it is on your circle but directly above C(2, 0)
[D should be at (2, y)] such that is perpendicular to your x – axis.
16)Find the length of and the coordinate of C. Show your calculations.

= ______________ D(2, ______)

17) In your left pane, select “More”.

a. Under the Measure Toolbar, select the “Distance or Length” Tool

b. Measure the length of to verify your answer by selecting points C and D.

c. Once you verified it, use the Arrow Tool to select the measured value and delete it
so you can no longer see the length of

18) What similarities or differences is this new triangle to your previous one?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________
Phase 3:
1) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Arrow or “Move” Tool.

a. Drag Point B(5, 0) to the coordinate (3, 0) reducing the radius of your circle.
b. Drag Point C and Point D anywhere inside your circle to form a new right triangle.
Do not place Point C on an integer coordinate.
2) With unknown coordinates D(x, y) and Center (0,0) can you fill in the partially completed
equation below in which a and b are the legs of your right triangle and c is your
hypotenuse?

___________________________ + ________________________ = ________32__________

a b c
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 3) After forming an equation, measure the side lengths of your right triangle using the
“Distance or Length” Tool.
4) Check to see if your side lengths match your equation.
5) Do you think your written equation will work with any point that you select on the circle?
6) Come up with an equation to represent this circle

__________________________________________________

7) Come up with an equation to represent your first circle

__________________________________________________

Phase 4:
1) Open a new tab and go to https://www.geogebra.org/geometry so we don’t eliminate the
previous task.

2) Click the icon in the upper right corner.

a. Select “Show Grid”
b. Click the icon again and select “Show Grid” → “Major Gridlines”
3) In your Basic Toolbar on the left, select the Circle Graphing Tool

a. Click on the coordinate (2, 3) placing the center of the circle and drag the circle
drawing a circle with a radius of 4.

4) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Point Tool.

a. Place point C on your circle at the coordinate (4,3).

b. Place another point, point D so that it is on your circle but directly above C(4, 3)
[D should be at D(4, y)] such that is perpendicular to your x – axis.
5) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Segment Tool.

a. Using the Segment Tool, connect points to form a triangle.

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 b. Make some observations about this circle.

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6) What is different about this circle?

_____________________________________________________________________________

7) Using what you know about your previous circles and the Pythagorean Theorem, come up
with an equation to represent this circle.

___________________________________________________________________________
8) Things to think about:
a. Where was the center in your previous circles?
b. Does the center of your circle effect your equation?
c. What is the length of the base of your triangle? What is the value of the x
coordinate? What role do these play in your equation?
d. What is the height of the base of your triangle? What is the value of the y
coordinate? What role do these play in your equation?
Phase 5:
1) Using the graph paper provided, you will each draw two circles on your graph using a
compass. Make sure to plot and label the center point, and a point on the circle that is
NOT vertical or horizontal of your center.
2) Pass your paper clockwise in your group. The next group member will construct a right
triangle (on both circles) using the points and label the lengths of all three sides of your
triangle.
3) Pass your paper clockwise and look at the constructions. Using the information from
your last 2 group mates, write the equation of each circle.
4) Pass your paper clockwise one last time. Look at the work and the equation, and double
check it for errors. If you have questions, consult with your groupmates about their
work. Then, create a word problem in which the work would be your solution. The
solution to your word problem could be the graph, the equation, or other elements of
your circle.

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Assessment: Exit Slip
Within your math journal, respond to the following prompts. Cut out graphs to glue into your
journal.
1) If there was a circle with the center at its origin, and a radius of 4, what is the equation
of this circle?

2) If there was a circle with center (-1, 3), and with a radius 4, what is the equation of this
circle?

3) If there was a circle with an unknown center (h,k) and with an unknown radius r, what is
the equation of this circle?

4) Sketch a graph of the circle

i.
ii.

5) A particular cellphone tower is designed to service a 12-mile radius. The tower is located
at (-3, 5) on a coordinate plane whose units represent miles. What is the standard
equation of the outer boundary of the region serviced by the tower? Is a cell phone user at
(8,0) within the service range? Explain.

6) Describe in detail how the equation of a circle related to the Pythagorean Theorem?

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Name:__SOLUTION KEY__________Date:_________________________Block:____________
Equation of a Circle Investigation:

Phase 1: (Set Up)

1) Log in to your computer and go to: https://www.geogebra.org/geometry
Click the icon in the upper right corner.
2) Select “Show Axis”
Click the icon again and select “Show Grid” → “Major Gridlines”
Phase 2:
3) In your Basic Toolbar on the left, select the Circle Graphing Tool

4) Click on the origin to place the center of your circle at (0,0) and drag the circle drawing a
circle with a radius of 5.
5) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Point Tool.

6) Place point C on your circle at the coordinate (3,0).

7) Place another point, point D at the coordinate (3,4).
8) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Segment Tool.

a. Using the Segment Tool, connect the origin, (3,0) and (3,4) to form a triangle.
b. Make some observations about this triangle.

9) General Observations:
The triangle formed is a right triangle. The hypotenuse of
the triangle is also a length of 5, which is the same length
as the radius.
10) What are the side lengths of this triangle?
The side lengths are 4 units and 3 units, and the
hypotenuse is 5 units.

11) If the legs of your right triangle are represented by a & b, and your hypotenuse, c, write
the lengths of legs a and b as an equation using the coordinates.

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 a= (3-0) b= (4-0)
12) How does the hypotenuse your triangle relate to your circle?

The hypotenuse is the radius of the circle and is 5 units long.

13) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Arrow or “Move” Tool.

14)Drag Point C(3, 0) and move it to (2, 0).

15) Drag Point D(3, 4) so that it is on your circle but directly above C(2, 0)
[D should be at (2, y)] such that is perpendicular to your x – axis.
16)Find the length of and the coordinate of C. Show your calculations.

= 52-22=CD2 D(2, )
25-4=CD2
CD=

17) In your left pane, select “More”.

a. Under the Measure Toolbar, select the
“Distance or Length” Tool

b. Measure the length of to verify your answer by selecting points C and D.

c. Once you verified it, use the Arrow Tool to select the measured value and delete it
so you can no longer see the length of

18) What similarities or differences is this new triangle to your previous one?
The lengths of the legs are different, but the radius is still the same (5 units long). The
legs still form a right triangle and the hypotenuse still represents the radius of the circle.

Phase 3:
1) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Arrow or “Move” Tool.

a. Drag Point B(5, 0) to the coordinate (3, 0) reducing the radius of your circle.

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 b. Drag Point C and Point D anywhere inside your circle to form a new right triangle.
Do not place Point C on an integer coordinate.
2) With unknown coordinates D(x, y) and Center (0,0) can you fill in the partially completed
equation below in which a and b are the legs of your right triangle and c is your
hypotenuse?

________(x – 0)_________ + _____(y – 0)___________ = ________32__________

a b c

3) After forming an equation, measure the side lengths of your right triangle using the
“Distance or Length” Tool.
4) Check to see if your side lengths match your equation.
5) Do you think your written equation will work with any point that you select on the circle?
6) Come up with an equation to represent this circle

Where h and k are the center coordinates and x and y are the point on the circle and r is the

radius.

7) Come up with an equation to represent your first circle

Phase 4:
1) Open a new tab and go to https://www.geogebra.org/geometry so we don’t eliminate the
previous task.

2) Click the icon in the upper right corner.

a. Select “Show Grid”
b. Click the icon again and select “Show Grid” → “Major Gridlines”
3) In your Basic Toolbar on the left, select the Circle Graphing Tool

4) Click on the coordinate (2, 3) placing the center of the circle and drag the circle drawing
a circle with a radius of 4.
Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your Point Tool.

a. Place point C on your circle at the coordinate (4,3).

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 b. Place another point, point D so that it is on your circle but directly above C(4, 3)
[D should be at D(4, y)] such that is
perpendicular to your x – axis.
5) Go to the Basic Toolbar again and select your
Segment Tool.

a. Using the Segment Tool, connect points to

form a triangle.
b. Make some observations about this circle.

We know the radius is 4, so the length AD should be 4,

which is the radius. The triangle formed is a right
triangle.

6) What is different about this circle?

The center is not at (0, 0) like the last circle. The radius has also changed.

7) Using what you know about your previous circles and the Pythagorean Theorem, come up
with an equation to represent this circle.
where x and y are coordinates on the circle and 2, 3 would be the center,
and 4 is the radius.

8) Things to think about:

a. Where was the center in your previous circles?
The center was in the origin.
b. Does the center of your circle effect your equation?
Yes, because we have to know what to subtract point D with in order to get the
lengths of the legs of the triangle.
c. What is the length of the base of your triangle? What is the value of the x
coordinate? What role do these play in your equation?
The length of the base is 2, and to get 2, we will have to do (4 – 2) since D is
located at (4, y).
d. What is the height of the base of your triangle? What is the value of the y
coordinate? What role do these play in your equation?
The length of the base is unknown, but we know that it is the y coordinate of D
minus 3, which is the y coordinate of the center, so it is (y – 3).

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Phase 5:
1) Using the graph paper provided, you will each draw two circles on your graph using a
compass. Make sure to plot and label the center point, and a point on the circle that is
NOT vertical or horizontal of your center.
2) Pass your paper clockwise in your group. The next group member will construct a right
triangle (on both circles) using the points and label the lengths of all three sides of your
triangle.
3) Pass your paper clockwise and look at the constructions. Using the information from
your last 2 group mates, write the equation of each circle.
4) Pass your paper clockwise one last time. Look at the work and the equation, and double
check it for errors. If you have questions, consult with your groupmates about their
work. Then, create a word problem in which the work would be your solution. The
solution to your word problem could be the graph, the equation, or other elements of
your circle.

Assessment: Exit Slip

Within your math journal, respond to the following prompts. Cut out graphs to glue into your
journal.
1) If there was a circle with the center at its origin, and a radius of 4, what is the equation
of this circle? (x – 0)2 + (y – 0)2 = 42

2) If there was a circle with center (-1, 3), and with a radius 4, what is the equation of this
circle?
(x – -1)2 + (y – 3)2 = 42
(x + 1)2 + (y – 3)2 = 42

3) If there was a circle with an unknown center (h,k) and with an unknown radius r, what is
the equation of this circle?
(x – h)2 + (y – k)2 = r2

4) Sketch a graph of the circle

i.
ii.

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5) A particular cellphone tower is designed to service a 12-mile radius. The tower is located
at (-3, 5) on a coordinate plane whose units represent miles. What is the standard
equation of the outer boundary of the region serviced by the tower? Is a cell phone user at
(8,0) within the service range? Explain.
(x + 3)2 + (y – 5)2 = 122
When graphed, (8, 0) is outside of the radius so it would not work. Algebraically, if
we plug in (8, 0),
(8 + 3)2 + (0 – 5)2 = 121 + 25 = 146, which is greater than 122 = 144. So we know it is
greater than a radius of 12.

6) Describe in detail how the equation of a circle related to the Pythagorean Theorem?

The radius of a circle represents the hypotenuse of a right triangle formed by any point
on the circle. We can calculate the legs of the triangle by taking the x coordinate of the
point on the circle, and subtracting the x coordinate of the center, and the y coordinate of
the point on the circle, and subtracting the y coordinate of the center. We know from the
Pythagorean theorem that the sum of the squares of these two legs is equal to the square
of the hypotenuse, which is the radius.

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