Decoding the Circle Formula

• Equation of a circle: (x – h)2 + (y – k)2 = r 2
• The center of a circle is represented by the point (h, k).
• The radius is the distance from the center of a circle to any point on its circumference.

When you first look at an equation, a natural question is what

kind of line or curve is it representing.

An equation that has an x 2 and a y 2 with terms being added

together positively will likely be a circle.

When defining the center of the circle remember to change

the signs from the standard form of the equation. The equation
states (x – h) and (y – k), showing both center values as
negative, while the ordered pair (h, k) shows both values as
positive.

The radius will be the square root of the constant on the right
side of the equation. It will always be positive because it
represents a distance.

And once you know the center and the radius of a circle, you
can easily sketch its graph.

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