SAT Math : Coordinate Geometry

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Equation Of A Circle

A circle exists entirely in the first quadrant such that it intersects the -axis at .  If the circle intersects the -axis in at least one point, what is the area of the circle?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We are given two very important pieces of information.  The first is that the circle exists entirely in the first quadrant, the second is that it intersects both the - and -axis. 

The fact that it is entirely in the first quadrant means that it cannot go past the two axes.  For a circle to intersect the -axis in more than one point, it would necessarily move into another quadrant. Therefore, we can conclude it intersects in exactly one point.

The intersection of the circle with  must also be tangential, since it can only intersect in one point.  We can thus conclude that the circle must have both - and - intercepts equal to 6 and have a center of .

This leaves us with a radius of 6 and an area of:

Example Question #1 : Circles

We have a square with length 2 sitting in the first quadrant with one corner touching the origin. If the square is inscribed inside a circle, find the equation of the circle.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If the square is inscribed inside the circle, in means the center of the circle is at (1,1). We need to also find the radius of the circle, which happens to be the length from the corner of the square to it's center.

Now use the equation of the circle with the center and .

We get 

Example Question #1 : Circles

What is the radius of a circle with the equation ?

 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We need to expand this equation to \dpi{100} \small x^{2}-8x+y^{2}-6y=24 and then complete the square.

This brings us to \dpi{100} \small x^{2}-8x+16+y^{2}-6y+9=24+16+9.

We simplify this to \dpi{100} \small \left ( x-4 \right )^{2}+\left ( y-3 \right )^{2}=49.

Thus the radius is 7.

Example Question #2 : How To Find The Equation Of A Circle

A circle has its origin at . The point  is on the edge of the circle. What is the radius of the circle?

Possible Answers:

There is not enough information to answer this question.

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The radius of the circle is equal to the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides of lengths 5 and 7.

This radical cannot be reduced further.

Example Question #1 : How To Find The Equation Of A Circle

The endpoints of a diameter of circle A are located at points  and . What is the area of the circle?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The formula for the area of a circle is given by A =πr2 .  The problem gives us the endpoints of the diameter of the circle. Using the distance formula, we can find the length of the diameter. Then, because we know that the radius (r) is half the length of the diameter, we can find the length of r. Finally, we can use the formula A =πr2 to find the area.

The distance formula is Actmath_7_113_q1

The distance between the endpoints of the diameter of the circle is:

To find the radius, we divide  d (the length of the diameter) by two.

Then we substitute the value of r into the formula for the area of a circle.

Example Question #151 : Psat Mathematics

What is the equation for a circle of radius 9, centered at the intersection of the following two lines?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To begin, let us determine the point of intersection of these two lines by setting the equations equal to each other:

To find the y-coordinate, substitute into one of the equations. Let's use :

The center of our circle is therefore .

Now, recall that the general form for a circle with center at  is

For our data, this means that our equation is:

Example Question #12 : Circles

Find the equation of the circle centered at  with a radius of 3.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Write the standard equation of a circle, where  is the center of the circle, and  is the radius.

Substitute the point and radius.

Example Question #22 : Circles

A circle with a radius of five is centered at the origin. A point on the circumference of the circle has an x-coordinate of two and a positive y-coordinate. What is the value of the y-coordinate?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that the general form of the equation of a circle centered at the origin is:

x2 + y2 = r2

We know that the radius of our circle is five. Therefore, we know that the equation for our circle is:

x2 + y2 = 52

x2 + y2 = 25

Now, the question asks for the positive y-coordinate when= 2.  To solve this, simply plug in for x:

22 + y2 = 25

4 + y2 = 25

y2 = 21

y = ±√(21)

Since our answer will be positive, it must be √(21).

Example Question #11 : Circles

What is the equation of a circle with center (1,1) and a radius of 10? 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The general equation for a circle with center (h, k) and radius r is given by

.

In our case, our h-value is 1 and our k-value is 1. Our r-value is 10.

Substituting each of these values into the equation for a circle gives us

Example Question #15 : Circles

The following circle is moved  spaces to the left. Where is its new center located?

Possible Answers:

None of the given answers. 

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Remember that the general equation for a circle with center  and radius  is

With that in mind, our original center is at  .

If we move the center  units to the left, that means that we are subtracting  from our given coordinates. 

Therefore, our new center is 

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