General Form of the

Equation of a Circle
2 2
𝑥 + 𝑦 +2 𝑔𝑥 +2 𝑓𝑦 +𝑐=0
Prior knowledge

Completing the square method

Standard form:

Conic equation:
When Conic Eqn Becomes Circle Eqn?

If and , then the conic equation becomes

a circle equation.
 Standard Form to General Form

(𝑥, 𝑦)

(h , 𝑘)
Standard Form to General Form

(𝑥, 𝑦)

( 𝑎 ,𝑏 ) Taking and , the equation becomes

Also taking , it becomes

General form of the equation of a circle

Comparing Gnr Eqn of a Circle with Conic Eqn, Again
Center and Radius from General Equation

(𝑥, 𝑦)

( 𝑎 ,𝑏 )

 Center

 Radius
Keynote
• The general equation of a circle is:
• , where the center is and the radius is
• No terms
• The coefficients of and are the same.
• Standard Form provides the center point and radius, but General
Form doesn’t
Example 1
Find the center and radius of the circle
Example 2
Find the center and radius of the circle
AS/A Level Edexcel Past Question
Q5, C2, May 2018
The circle C has equation
.
Find
(a) The coordinates of the center of C, [2]
(b) The exact value of the radius of C, [2]
(c) The y-coordinates of the points where the circle C crosses the y-axis. [2]
(d) Find an equation of the tangent to C at the point (2, 0), giving your answer in the
form , where , , and are integers. [4]