HANDOUT IN ADVANCED MATHEMATICS (CIRCLE - PART 1)

THE FAMILY OF CONIC SECTIONS (Circle, Ellipse, Parabola, and Hyperbola)

DEFINITION OF A CIRCLE: It is the set of all points that are of the same distance from a given point
in a plane. It is a member of the family of conic sections. The given point is the CENTER OF THE
CIRCLE. The line segment from the center to any point of the circle is called the RADIUS. A line
segment whose endpoints both lie on the circle is called CHORD. A chord that passes through the
center of the circle is called DIAMETER. It is the longest chord of the circle. The set of points in the
plane of a circle whose distances from the center are less than the length of the radius is in the
INTERIOR OF THE CIRCLE, and the set of points in the plane of a circle whose distances from the
center are greater than the length of the radius is in the EXTERIOR OF THE CIRCLE. The
coordinates of the point (x, y) that satisfy the equation x 2 + y2 = r2 are the coordinates of the point ON
THE CIRCLE.

COMPONENTS OF A CIRCLE

EQUATIONS OF A CIRCLE

IF THE CENTER OF THE CIRCLE IS AT THE ORIGIN: C(0,0)

x2 + y2 = r2
where: x, and y are the coordinates of the point P(x, y) on the circle
and r is the radius of the given circle

IF THE CENTER OF THE CIRCLE IS NOT AT THE ORIGIN: C(h,k)

(x – h)2 + (y – k)2 = r2
where: h and k are the coordinates of the center C (h, k) of the circle,
x, and y are the coordinates of the point P(x, y) on the circle
and r is the radius of the given circle

These equations were derived by using the

Pythagorean Theorem: a2 + b2 = c2
where a and b are the lengths of the two legs of a right triangle
and c is its hypotenuse

, and the Distance Formula: (x2 – x1)2 + (y2 – y1)2 = D2

where D is the distance between two points with the coordinates
(x1, y1) and (x2 , y2)
 HANDOUT IN ADVANCED MATHEMATICS (CIRCLE - PART 2)

SAMPLE ROUTINE PROBLEMS RELATED TO CIRCLES

1. Find the equation of a circle whose center is at the origin and its diameter is 24 centimeters.
2. Find the equation of a circle whose center is at point (- 2, 3) and its diameter has a length of 10 m.
3. Find the equation of a circle whose center and radius are:
a. C (5, - 3) r = 6 inches c. at the origin r = 32 meters
b. C ( - 1, - 7) r = 15 cm d. C (0, - 4) r = 7 feet
4. Find the center and radius of each circle defined by:
a. x2 + y2 = 81 e. x2 + y2 = 7
b. x + y = 36
2 2
f. x2 + y2 = 10
c. (x – 7)2 + (y – 3)2 = 82 g. (x + 9)2 + (y + 4)2 = 1024
d. (x – 11) + (y + 12) = 144
2 2
h. (x + 2)2 + (y - 1)2 = 36
5. Complete each Perfect Square Trinomial (PST), change to Square of Binomial (SOB), then find the roots:
a. x2 + 10x + _____ = 11 + ____ c. y2 – 3y + _____ = 2 + ____
2 2
b. x - 8x + _____ = 9 + ____ d. 4y + 8y + _____ = - 4 + ____
6. Find the center and radius of a circle which is defined by the equation: x2 + 2x + y2 – 6y = 15
7. Find the radius and center of the circle defined by the equation: x2 + 6x + y2 – 10y = 66.
8. Determine the center and radius of the circle which is defined by the equation: x2 + 4x + y2 – 8y = 5
9. Is point A (-3, 8) inside, outside, or on the circle whose equation is given by: x2 + 4x + y2 – 8y = 5
10. Find the center and radius of each circle defined by the following equations:
a. x2 - 16x + y2 – 10y = 11 d. x2 - 16x + y2 – 8y = 41
b. x + 12x + y + 14y = 36
2 2
e. x2 + 4x + y2 = 5
2 2
c. x - 4x + y – 6y = 36 f. x2 + y2 + 12y = 38

MORE ROUTINE PROBLEMS RELATED TO EQUATIONS OF CIRCLES

1. Find the equation of a circle whose center is at the point (-2, 3) and its diameter has a length of 10.  
2. Find the center and the radius of the circle whose equation is given by x 2 + 4x + y 2 - 8y = 5. 
3. Find an equation of the circle that is tangent to both the x and y axes, with a radius of 4 and whose center is
located in the second quadrant. 
4. Find an equation of the circle whose center is at the point (-4, 6) and passes through the point (1, 2). 
5. Find an equation of the circle whose center is at the point (-3, 6) and is tangent to the y axis. 
6. Find an equation of the circle whose center is at the point (2, -5) and is tangent to the x axis. 
7. Find an equation of the circle whose diameter has endpoints at (-5, 2) and (3, 6). 
8. Find the x and y intercepts of the graph of the circle given by the equation x 2 + 3x + y 2 - 4y = 18 
9. Is point A (-3, 8) inside, outside or on the circle whose equation is given by x 2 + 4x + y 2 - 8y = 5.
10. Find the points of intersection of the circle with equation (x - 2) 2 + (y - 6) 2 = 40 and the line with equation
y = 3x.
11. Three points are defined as follows: A (-2, 1), B (6, 1) and C (-2, 7). 
a) Find the midpoint M of segment BC. 
b) Find the lengths of the line segments MA, MB and MC. 
c) Find the equation of the circle that passes through the three points A, B and C.

SAMPLE REAL LIFE APPLICATION OF CIRCLES WITH SOLUTION

Circles are all around you in everyday life, from tires on cars to buttons on coats, as well as on the tops of bowls, glasses,
and water bottles. Ellipses are less common. One example is the orbits of planets, but you should be able to find
the area of a circle or an ellipse, or the circumference of a circle, based on information given to you in a problem. Circles
and ellipses are examples of conic sections, which are curves formed by the intersection of a plane with a cone.

EXAMPLE 1: You are a gardener, and you have just planted a lot of flowers that you want to water. The flower bed is 15
feet wide, and 15 feet long. You are using a circular sprinkler system, and the water reaches 6 feet out from the center.
The sprinkler is located, from the bottom left corner of the bed, 7 feet up, and 6 feet over.
A. If the flower bed was a graph with the bottom left corner being the origin, what would the equation of the circle be?
B. What is the area being watered by the sprinkler? C. What percentage of the garden that is being watered?
SOLUTION:
If the bottom left corner is the origin, it has coordinates (0,0). From there the sprinkler is 6 feet over, so the x-coordinate of
the center is 6. The sprinkler is 7 feet up, so the y-coordinate of the center is 7. Ergo, the center of the circle is at
coordinate (6,7). The water reaches 6 feet out from the sprinkler, so the circle radius is 6 feet. Therefore the equation of
this circle is: (x−6)2+(y−7)2=36
The area that is watered by the sprinkler can be labeled A sprinkler, and is:
A sprinkler = π⋅r 2 = π⋅ 62 = 36 π
The first step to finding the percentage of the garden that is being watered is to check that none of the water is falling
outside the garden. The sprinkler is at coordinate (6,7), and the radius of the sprinkler is 6 feet. You can test that the water
does not fall outside the 15×15 garden. 
Once we know that the area that is watered is completely inside the garden, the percentage of the garden that is watered
can be found by dividing the area watered by the total area of the garden, and then multiplying by 100%:
Percentage watered = (Asprinkler / Aflowerbed)⋅100% = (36π / 152)⋅100%=(113/1225)⋅100% = 50.3%
 HANDOUT IN ADVANCED MATHEMATICS (CIRCLE - PART 3)

REAL LIFE APPLICATIONS OF CIRCLES

Circles are all around you in everyday life, from tires on cars to buttons on coats, as well as on the tops of
bowls, glasses, and water bottles. Ellipses are less common. One example is the orbits of planets, but you
should be able to find the area of a circle or an ellipse, or the circumference of a circle, based on information
given to you in a problem. Circles and ellipses are examples of conic sections, which are curves formed by the
intersection of a plane with a cone.

1. A circle with radius 5 has its center at (4, 1). The line x - 2y + 4 = 0 intersects the circle. Find the
intersections

2. A running track has straight sides and a semicircular ends. If the length of the track is 440 yd. and the two
straight parts are each 110 yd. long, what is the radius of the semicircular parts?

3. AB is one of the direct common tangent of two circles with radius 12 cm and 4 cm respectively touching
each other. Find the area of the region enclosed by the circles and tangent.

4. The center of the smallest circle passing through origin lies on the line X – Y + 1=0 then find the coordinates
of its center.

5. Ms. Speedy is going to have jewels, which cost$100 a piece, set along the outer border of the face of her
watch. The jeweler explained that she could place two jewels per cm. but to estimate the price of the jewels,
she would need to know the circumference of the watch. The radius of the face of the watch is 2 cm. Help Ms.
Speedy by finding the approximate cost of the jewels (including 8% tax). Show all your sub problems.

6. Sarah had an idea, what would happen if you put a golf ball inside a basketball? How much room would
there be inside the basketball afterwards. Her golf ball has a radius of 1.68 inches while her basketball has a
diameter of 9.4 inches. How much space will be left over after the golf ball is placed inside the basketball?

7. Two satellites are orbiting earth. The path of one has the equation x 2 + y2 = 2 250 000. The orbit of the other
is 200 mi farther from the center of earth. In one orbit, how much farther does the second satellite travel than
the first one?

8. A birthday present is packaged in a tube that has a length of 10 inches and a diameter of 4 inches. How
much paper is needed to wrap the present?

9. A large pizza has a diameter 35cm. Two large pizzas cost $19.99. A medium pizza has a diameter 30 cm.
Three medium pizzas cost $24.99. Which is the better deal: 2 large pizzas or 3 medium pizzas?

10. A semicircular window of radius 12 inches is to be laminated with a sunblock coating that costs $0.75 per
square inch to apply. What is the total cost of coating the window, to the nearest cent?

11. A Street that is 5 km long is covered in snow. City workers are using a snowplow to clear the street. A tire
on the snowplow has to turn 1250 times in traveling the length of the street. What is the diameter of the
tire? Use π = 3.14. Round your answer to the nearest tenth. Do not round any intermediate steps.

12. A therapy pool in the central high school training room is in the shape of a 9 meter circle. How much
material would it take to cover it?

13. You are a gardener, and you have just planted a lot of flowers that you want to water. The flower bed is 15
feet wide, and 15 feet long. You are using a circular sprinkler system, and the water reaches 6 feet out from
the center. The sprinkler is located, from the bottom left corner of the bed, 7 feet up, and 6 feet over.

A. If the flower bed was a graph with the bottom left corner being the origin, what would the equation of the
circle be?

B. What is the area being watered by the sprinkler?

C. What percentage of the garden that is being watered?

14. An arch, in the shape of a circular arc, supports a pipeline (AB) across a river 18 meters wide. Midway, the
suspending cable (CD) is 3 meters long. Find the radius of the arch.
 HANDOUT IN ADVANCED MATHEMATICS (CIRCLE - PART 4)

THEOREMS AND DEFINITIONS RELATED TO CIRCLES

1. If a radius is perpendicular to a chord, then it bisects the chord.
2. If a radius of a circle bisects a chord that is not a diameter, then it is perpendicular to the chord.
3. The perpendicular bisector of a chord passes through the center of the circle.
4. CONGRUENT CIRCLES are circles that have congruent radii.
5. CONCENTRIC CIRCLES are coplanar circles having the same center.
6. If chords of a circle or of congruent circles are equidistant from the centers, then the chords are congruent.
EXERCISES: Next Century Math 10 pages 207 – 213.
7. An ARC is a part of a circle.
8. A SEMI-CIRCLE is a part of the circle from one endpoint of the diameter to the other endpoint. Its degree
measure is equal to 180 degrees. The MINOR ARC is a part of a circle whose degree measure is less than
180 degrees. The MAJOR ARC is a part of a circle whose degree measure is greater than 180 degrees. A
CENTRAL ANGLE is angle whose vertex is at the center of the circle. Its measure is equal to the measure of
its intercepted arc.
9. An INTERCEPTED ARC is an arc in the interior of an angle. A SUBTENDED ANGLE is an angle that
intercepts a given arc. An INSCRIBED ANGLE is an angle whose vertex is on the circle and whose sides
contain chords of the circle. An angle inscribed in a semi-circle is a right angle.
10. If two inscribed angles intercept the same arc or congruent arcs, then the angles are congruent. Opposite
angles of an inscribed quadrilateral are supplementary. If two arcs of a circle are inscribed between parallel
secants, then the arcs are congruent.

ANGLES FORMED BY TANGENTS AND SECANTS

A TANGENT LINE is a line that intersects the circle at exactly one point. A SECANT LINE is a line that
intersects the circle at two points. If a line is tangent to a circle, then it is perpendicular to the radius drawn to
the point of tangency. If two segments from the same external point are tangent to a circle, then the two
segments are congruent.
Theorem 113: If two secants intersect in the interior of a circle, then the measure of the angle formed is equal
to one – half the sum of the measures of the intercepted arcs.
Theorem 114: If two secants intersect in exterior of a circle, then the measure of the angle formed is one-half
of the positive difference of the measures of the intercepted arcs.
Theorem 115: The measure of an angle formed by a secant and a tangent intersecting at a point on the circle
is one-half the measure of the intercepted arc.
Theorem 116: The measure of an angle formed by a secant and a tangent intersecting at the exterior of the
circle is one-half the positive difference of the measures of the intercepted arcs.
Theorem 117: The measure of an angle formed by two tangents to the same circle is one-half the positive
difference of the measures of the intercepted arcs.

SEGMENT LENGTHS IN CIRCLES

Theorem 118: If two chords intersect in the interior of a circle, then the product of the lengths of the segments
of one chord is equal to the product of the lengths of the segments of the other chord.
Theorem 119: If two secants intersect in the exterior of a circle, then the product of the lengths of one secant
segment and its external part is equal to the product of the lengths of the other segment and its external part.
Theorem 120: If a tangent and a secant segment intersect in the exterior of a circle, then the square of the
length of the tangent segment is equal to the product of the lengths of the entire secant segment and its
external part.
AREAS OF SECTORS AND SEGMENTS OF CIRCLES
AREA OF A SECTOR of a circle is a region bounded by two radii and an arc of a circle. It is the fractional part
of the area of the entire circle.
A sector = C π r 2/ 360

where A = area of the sector C = degree measure of the central angle r = radius of the circle

A sector = ½ Ør 2

where A = area of the sector Ø = radian measure of the central angle r = radius of the circle

The LENGTH OF AN ARC (s): s = r Ø π = 1800 A triangle = r2 √ 3 / 4

AREA OF THE SEGMENT OF A CIRCLE is a region bounded by a chord and the arc subtended by the chord.
It is a portion of the area of the circle cut – off by a chord.
 A segment = A sector - A triangle

Source: Next Century Mathematics IV by M. Esparrago et. al pages 200 - 308