The geometry of a circle mathcentre.ac.uk（一个圆的几何mathcentre.ac.uk）.pdf

The geometry of a circle mc-TY-circles-2009-1 In this unit we find the equation of a circle, when we are told its centre and its radius. There are two different forms of the equation, and you should be able to recognise both of them. We also look at some problems involving tangents to circles. In order to master the techniques explained here it is vital that you undertake plenty of practice exercises so that they become second nature. After reading this text, and/or viewing the video tutorial on this topic, you should be able to: • find the equation of a circle, given its centre and radius; • find the centre and radius of a circle, given its equation in standard form; • find the equation of the tangent to a circle through a given point on its circumference; • decide whether a given line is tangent to a given circle. Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. The equation of a circle centred at the origin 2 3. The general equation of a circle 4 4. The equation of a tangent to a circle at a given point 7 c www.mathcentre.ac.uk 1 mathcentre 2009 1. Introduction The circle is a familiar shape and it has a host of geometric properties that can be proved using the traditional Euclidean format. But it is sometimes useful to work in co-ordinates and this requires us to know the standard equation of a circle, how to interpret that equation and how to find the equation of a tangent to a circle. This video will explore these particular facets of a circle, using co-ordinate geometry. 2. The equation of a ci