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Goals and Objectives of the
Circle Module

After completing this module you will be able to:
  • describe that a circle is the set of all points equidistant from another point.
  • use both the Distance Formula and the Pythagorean Theorem to derive the standard equation of a circle.
  • describe a unit circle as a circle with the centre at the origin and a radius of 1 unit.
  • write the standard equation for a circle centred at the origin as x2 + y2 = r2
  • write the standard equation for a circle centred at any coordinates (h, k) as (x - h)2 + (y - k)2 = r2
  • vary the x coordinate h in the standard equation (x - h)2 + (y - k)2 = r2 to make a circle move left and right on the coordinate plane.
  • vary the y coordinate k in the standard equation (x - h)2 + (y - k)2 = r2 to make a circle move up and down on the coordinate plane.
  • vary the values of r in the standard equation (x - h)2 + (y - k)2 = r2 to increase and decrease the size of the circle.
  • use the centre coordinates and radius of a circle to write the standard equation of a circle.
  • use the standard equation of a circle to describe the centre and radius of a circle.
  • describe that P must be greater than 0 in the standard equation x2 + y2 = P in order for a circle to exist.
  • describe that the equation x2 + y2 = P, with P = 0, describes a point.
  • rewrite the standard equation of a circle into the form Ax2 + Ay2 + Cx + Dy + F = O.
  • rewrite an equation of the form Ax2 + Ay2 + Cx + Dy + F = 0 into standard form (x - h)2 + (y - k)2 = r2 by completing the square.
  • show that the standard equation of a circle is equal to the general circle equation Ax2 + Ay2 + Cx + Dy + F = 0.
  • describe that F must be less than 0 in the general circle equation of the form x2 + y2 + F = 0 in order for a circle to exist.
  • explain why the coefficients of x2 and y2 must be the same in the general circle equation Ax2 + Ay2 + Cx + Dy + F = 0.

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