A circle which is tangent to two perpendicular lines

HOME

Math Central

Quandaries & Queries

Question from MJ, a student:

I'm a College Student taking up Bachelor of Secondary Education on Math Subject.
And I'm struggling for my research about Circles. I done solving the said topic particularly on this question:
"What are the possible equations of a circle being tangent to a pair of perpendicular lines, having the origin as the Point of Intersection and the C (h, k), where h, k ∈ℤ"
But I can't get what would be the process that I must do in order to jive to my idea/goal for that problem.
Please check my idea that the numerical coefficients of the equation is equal to the radius of the circle.
Thanks in advance! :)

Hi,

Did you draw a diagram?

circle

The equation of a circle with centre $(h, k)$ and radius $r$ is $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2 .$ Label $h$, $k$ and $r$ on the diagram. What can you tell about $h, k$ and $r?$ What is the equation of the circle?

Penny

Math Central is supported by the University of Regina and The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.