Conics Section : Circle

Unit 2 Conics Section

The Greek mathematician Menaechmus is credited with the discovery of conic sections.

Introduction to Conic Sections

The term “conic” is derived from the word “cone” and as the name suggests, we are
going to cut the cone out in different sections. Each type of section will have its own
defining properties. A cone is an interesting shape which is very familiar in our day-to-day
lives, like an ice-cream cone, the birthday hat etc. Let’s explore the cones and find out
what exciting things are hidden inside a conic section.

Elements of a Conic

The conic sections can be formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a
plane in different ways. For a better idea, take a look at the image below

Straight lines Circle Parabola

 Conics Section : Circle

. Ellipse Hyperbola

Terminology in Conic Section

 Generator: It’s a straight line running from the apex to the base of a cone.

 Axis: It’s a straight line which runs from the apex of the cone to the centre of the
base.

 Conic: It’s the locus of a point which moves in a plane, such that: the ratio of its
distance from a fixed point to its perpendicular distance from a fixed straight line is
always constant.

 Focus: The fixed point is the focus of the conic.

 Directrix: The fixed straight line is the directrix of the conic.

 Eccentricity: The constant ratio is the eccentricity of the conic, denoted by e.

 Vertex: The intersection points of the conic and the axis is (are) called vertex
(vertices).

 Focal chord: Any chord passing through the focus is called the focal chord

 Centre: The point which bisects every chord of the conic passing through it, is called
the centre.
 Conics Section : Circle

 Double ordinate: It’s a straight line which is perpendicular to the axis and
terminated at both ends of the curve.

 Latus rectum: It’s the double ordinate which passes through the focus.

Defining Conic Sections

A conic section (or simply conic) is a curve obtained as the intersection of the surface of
a cone with a plane. The three types of conic sections are the hyperbola, the parabola,
and the ellipse. The circle is type of ellipse, and is sometimes considered to be a fourth
type of conic section.

Conic sections can be generated by intersecting a plane with a cone. A cone has two
identically shaped parts called nappes. One nappe is what most people mean by
“cone,” and has the shape of a party hat.

Conic sections are generated by the intersection of a plane with a cone. If the plane is
parallel to the axis of revolution (the y-axis), then the conic section is a hyperbola. If the
plane is parallel to the generating line, the conic section is a parabola. If the plane is
perpendicular to the axis of revolution, the conic section is a circle. If the plane
intersects one nappe at an angle to the axis (other than 90∘90∘), then the conic section
is an ellipse.

A cone and conic sections: The nappes and the four conic sections. Each conic is determined by the angle
the plane makes with the axis of the cone.
 Conics Section : Circle

Common Parts of Conic Sections

While each type of conic section looks very different, they have some features in
common. For example, each type has at least one focus and directrix.

A focus is a point about which the conic section is constructed. In other words, it is a
point about which rays reflected from the curve converge. A parabola has one focus
about which the shape is constructed; an ellipse and hyperbola have two.

A directrix is a line used to construct and define a conic section. The distance of a
directrix from a point on the conic section has a constant ratio to the distance from that
point to the focus. As with the focus, a parabola has one directrix, while ellipses and
hyperbolas have two.

These properties that the conic sections share are often presented as the following
definition, which will be developed further in the following section. A conic section is the
locus of points P whose distance to the focus is a constant multiple of the distance
from P to the directrix of the conic. These distances are displayed as orange lines for
each conic section in the following diagram.

Parts of conic sections: The three conic sections with foci and directrices labeled.
 Conics Section : Circle

MODULE 4
LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:

1. define a circle;
2. sketch the graph of a circle from its equation;
3. determine the center and radius of a circle from a given equation; and
4. reduce the equation of a circle from its general form to standard form.

MODULE 4 - CIRCLE

A circle is a round shaped figure that has no corners or edges. In geometry,

a circle can be defined as a closed, two-dimensional curved shape.
Definition: A circle is the set of all points in a plane that are equidistant from a
given point called the center of the circle. ... The a line segment from the center of
the circle to any point on the circle is a radius of the circle.
To the Greeks the circle was a symbol of the divine symmetry and balance in
nature. Greek mathematicians were fascinated by the geometry of circles and explored
their properties for centuries. ... Circles are still symbolically important today -they are
often used to symbolize harmony and unity.

A circle is a shape consisting of all points in

a plane that are a given distance from a given point,
the centre; equivalently it is the curve traced out by a
point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a
given point is constant. The distance between any
point of the circle and the centre is called the radius.

A circle (black), which is measured by its circumference (C), diameter (D) in cyan, and radius (R) in red; its
centre (O) is in magenta.

A circle may also be defined as a special kind of ellipse in which the two foci are
coincident and the eccentricity is 0, or the two-dimensional shape enclosing the most
area per unit perimeter squared, using calculus of variations.
 Conics Section : Circle

Key Concepts

Definition. A circle is a set of points (x,y) on the plane equidistant from a fixed point
C(h,k). The fixed point is called the center of the circle, and the constant equal distance
is called the radius.
Let P(x,y) be a point on a circle. By definition, P moves so that it is always a constant
distance r from the fixed point C(h,k), that is
dCP = r and
applying distance formula, (x-h)2 + (y-k)2 = r2 standard equation of a circle
if the center is at the origin, then x2 + y2 = r2
expanding the (x-h)2 + (y-k)2 = r2, we have x2 + y2 -2hx -2ky + (h2 + k2 – r2) = 0
if we let D= -2h , E = -2k and F = h2 + k2 – r2 then the equation reduces to
x2 + y2 +Dx + Ey + F = 0 general equation of a circle

the formula for distance from a line to a point, r = or d=

√ √
 Conics Section : Circle

When working with circle conic sections, we can derive the equation of a circle
by using coordinates and the distance formula.
The equation of a circle is (x - h)2 + (y - k)2 = r2 where r is equal to the radius,
and the coordinates (x,y) are equal to the circle center.
The variables h and k represent horizontal or vertical shifts in the circle graph.

Examples:
1. Find the center and the radius
a) x2 + (y + 2)2 = 121

Answer: center (0, -2) and r = 11

b) (x + 5)2 + (y - 10)2 = 9

Answer: center (-5, 10) and r = 3

2. Find the equation of the circle with center at ( -3, 2 ) and radius 5.

Solution: Given: (h;k) = ( -3, 2 ) and r = 5

Formula: (x-h)2 + (y-k)2 = r2
[ x – (-3) ]2 + ( y – 2 )2 = 52
( x + 3 ) 2 + ( y – 2 )2 = 25
X2 + y2 + 6x – 4y – 12 = 0 equation of the circle in general form
 Conics Section : Circle

3. The equation is an equation of a circle. To see this we will

need to complete the square for both x and y.

.
This simplifies to

which is the standard form of a circle with center (2, -3) and radius = 6.

Hands-on Learning

For your further understanding of the lesson try the following references:

Catolos, Elvira C. (2015). Analytic Geometry. A Worktext.

Galliguez, Thelma C. et al. (2015). Analytic Geometry.

For your online references click the following link:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/precalculus/x9e81a4f98389efdf:conics?utm_
account=Grant&utm_campaignname=Grant_Math_Dynamic&gclid=CjwKCAjw4_H6BR
ALEiwAvgfzqzTZJVOPOG3EKGv-RRrbKzyZc_nNGU1RVSuTAL8It2F21O7-
zH3XqBoC9ysQAvD_BwE

Activity No. 6

1. Given the center and radius, find the equation of the circle
and graph if possible.
a) center(-11, -8) and radius 4
b) center (2, -5) and r = 6
2. Find an equation of a circle concentric with the circle x2 + y2 -4x +6y = 12 and
tangent to the line 3x – 4y = 3.
3. Find the center and radius of the circle : x2 + y2 – 4x + y – 1 = 0