Circles

Equations

Example 2

Find an equation for the circle centered at (-5, 12) and passing through the point (-2, 8).

Step 1. Find the length of the radius.

In this example, the distance formula is needed to determine the radius.

circles_ex3-1-fix

Step 2. Substitute the center and radius into the standard form of a circle and simplify.

(x - (-5))2 + (y - (12))2 = 52

(x + 5)2 + (y - 12)2 = 25