Wunacademy Test Preparation > IT JEE > Geometry > Circles Pair of tangents to a circle LESSON 13 OF 13 Download the Unacademy Learning App to watch this and over 200k more lessons in UPSC, SSC CGL, GATE, Google Play | © CAT and many more categories.@ unacademy Pairs of Tangents Theorem 1 From a given point two tangents can be drawn to a circle which are real and distinct, coincident or imaginary according as the given point lies outside, on or inside the circle. Proof Let (x,, y;) be a given point and let the equation of the circle be x? + y? = a2. Then, the equation of any tangent to the circle is of the form y =mx+av1+m?, where m is the slope of the tangent. If this tangent passes through the given point (x1, 1), we must have _ V4 m2 yy =MxX,+av1+m (y,—mx,)? = a? (14m?) xj —a”)—2mxy, +y2 -a2 =0 (i) This equation, being quadratic in m, gives two values of m (real, coincident or imaginary) corresponding to any given values of x, and y,. For each value of m we have a corresponding tangent. > > m?(‘@ unacademy (4,4) Hence, in general two tangents can be drawn from the point (x;, y;) to a circle. The tangents are real, coincident or imaginary according as the values of m obtained from Eq. (i) are real, coincident or imaginary. or according as 4x7 v7 — 4(x7 —a7)(y? -a2) > or <0 or according as x? +y? -a*>,= or <0 or according as the point P (x,, y;) lies outside, on or inside the circle x7 + y7 = a7.Theorem 2 The combined equation of th? “27%°"Y of tangents drawn from a point P (x;, y,) to the circle xP 4y? =a? i (x? +y? —a?) Of ty a7) = 00 Fy; a7)? or Ss’=T° where $= x?+y?-a?, S’=x? +y? —a? and T = xx, + yyy -a7 Proof Let PQ and PR be the tangents drawn from the point P (x;, y;) to the circle x? + y” = a?. Let A (h, k) be any point on either tangent drawn from P (x;, y;). Then, the equation of PA isunacademy _{k (hy, — ky = y= (EB ef = i) This equation, being a tangent to x2 + must be of the form y=mxtaviem? Ail)On comparing Eqs. (i) and (ii), we get @ unacademy - hy, -kx m=koM and + av1+m? = oe h=x, h-x On eliminating m, we get + k-y,/ — fy = ky kx, h-x, h-x, > a? {(h— xq)? +(k = y4)?} = (hyy = kx)? Hence, the locus of (h, k) is a7 {(x-x)? +(y =v} = (xy —yxq)? => (x? +y? a7) (x? +y? -a7) = Oy +yy,-a’)? > SS’ = Aliter Combined equation of the pair of tangents drawn from an external point ‘P’ to a given circle is 55, = T?, 2 2 2 2 where S$ =x? +y?~—a?; 5, =x? +y?-a?,Proof Equation of chord of contact™™ “2cademy XXy ty, =a A's AQN and APM are similar. AQ_QN_,/_ Pr AP PML py‘© unacademy UiFkema? _ hay bya? TS? > DCO 2 (x? 4y? —a*)(x? +y7 -a’)= (xxq + V1 -a°y 55,=T?