Mathematics

Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

LESSON 12.3
Rewriting Equations of a Circle from General Form to
Center-Radius Form
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Test Your Prerequisite Skills 2

DepEd Competency 2

Objectives 3

Warm-Up! 3

Learn about It! 4

Forms of the Equation of a Circle 4

Degenerate Case 5

Let’s Practice 5

Check Your Understanding 9

Key Points 10

Bibliography 11
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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

Lesson 12.3
Rewriting Equations of a Circle from
General Form to Center-Radius Form

Fig. 1. A Radar Technician

Introduction
Have you ever wondered how radar works in a ship? Marine radar is mandatory to aid
navigation. It is used to identify, track, and position vessels, including one's vessel, for careful
navigation. The marine radar is classified under the band of frequencies used for a sharper
image and better resolution. With the help of a ship radar, accidents can be prevented at sea
using various functionalities. A radar can at least detect from a distance of 0.5 meters up to

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

thousands of kilometers, depending on the ship's radar. The use of circles in a Cartesian plane
plays an important role on radar navigation.

In this lesson, you will further learn more about circles on a Cartesian plane. Specifically, you
will learn how to convert equations of circles from general form to center-radius form and
vice versa.

Test Your Prerequisite Skills

Before you get started, answer the following items on a separate sheet of paper. This will help
you assess your prior knowledge and practice some skills that you will need in studying this
lesson. Show your complete solution.

A. Find the square of the following binomials.

1. (𝑥 − 5)2
2. (𝑥 + 3)2
3. (𝑦 − 1)2
4. (𝑦 − 4)2
5. (𝑎 + 𝑏)2

DepEd Competency
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to determine the center and radius
of a circle given its equation and vice versa (M10GE-IIh-2).

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Correctly write the center-radius form and general form of an equation of

a circle.

● Correctly determine the center and radius of a circle given its equation and
vice versa.

● Correctly solve problems involving equations of circles.

Warm-Up!

Where Do I Belong?

Materials
● pen
● paper

Instructions
1. This activity should be done individually.
2. Complete the table by grouping the polynomials with common variable.

Polynomial 1st variable 2nd variable Constant

𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 − 2𝑦 + 8𝑥 − 4

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

3𝑚 + 2𝑛 + 6 − 𝑚2 − 𝑛2

4𝑎2 − 2𝑏 2 + 12 − 4𝑏 + 2𝑎

𝑦 2 − 3𝑥 + 2𝑥 2 − 5 + 5𝑦

9 − 𝑎2 + 4𝑏 − 𝑏 2 + 2𝑎

Learn about It!

Forms of the Equation of a Circle

From the previous chapters, we have learned the different forms of the equation of a circle.

Center-radius form: (𝑥 − ℎ)2 + (𝑦 − 𝑘)2 = 𝑟 2

General form: 𝐴𝑥 2 + 𝐵𝑦 2 + 𝐶𝑥 + 𝐷𝑦 + 𝐸 = 0

To convert center-radius form to general form, we simply expand the square of the two
binomials, and arrange each terms into descending powers.

The activity in Warm Up! provided the initial setup of grouping the terms with common
variable.

On the other hand, to change the general form of equation of a circle into its center-radius
form, we will use the method of completing the square.

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

Essential Questions
Why is it important to know how to write the equation of a circle in center-
radius form and in general form?

Degenerate Cases
There are three possibilities when the equation of a circle in general form is transformed to
the standard form.
• If the radius 𝑟 satisfies 𝑟 2 > 0, then the graph is a circle.
• If the radius 𝑟 satisfies 𝑟 2 = 0, then the graph is a point.
• If the radius 𝑟 satisfies 𝑟 2 < 0, then there is no graph.

Let’s Practice
Example 1
Write the equation 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 8𝑥 − 12𝑦 + 27 = 0 in center-radius form.

Solution
Step 1: Group the terms with similar variable, and isolate the constant on one side of
the equation.

𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 8𝑥 − 12𝑦 + 27 = 0
(𝑥 2 + 8𝑥) + (𝑦 2 − 12𝑦) = −27

Step 2: Perform the method of completing the square.

8 2 −12 2 8 2 −12 2
[𝑥 2 + 8𝑥 + ( ) ] + [𝑦 2 − 12𝑦 + ( ) ] = −27 + ( ) + ( )
2 2 2 2

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

(𝑥 2 + 8𝑥 + 16) + (𝑦 2 − 12𝑦 + 36) = 25

(𝑥 + 4)2 + (𝑦 − 6)2 = 25

Therefore, the center-radius form is (𝒙 + 𝟒)𝟐 + (𝒚 − 𝟔)𝟐 = 𝟐𝟓.

Try It Yourself!
Write the equation 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 6𝑥 − 4𝑦 + 4 = 0 in center-radius form.

Example 2
Find the center and radius of the circle 2𝑥 2 + 2𝑦 2 + 16𝑥 + 20𝑦 + 18 = 0.

Solution
Since there is a common factor of 2, divide all the terms by 2.

2𝑥 2 + 2𝑦 2 + 16𝑥 + 20𝑦 + 18 = 0
𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 8𝑥 + 10𝑦 + 9 = 0

Step 1: Group the terms with similar variable, and isolate the constant on one side of
the equation.

(𝑥 2 + 8𝑥) + (𝑦 2 + 10𝑦) = −9

Step 2: Perform the method of completing the square.

8 2 10 2 8 2 10 2
[𝑥 2 + 8𝑥 + ( ) ] + [𝑦 2 + 10𝑦 + ( ) ] = −9 + ( ) + ( )
2 2 2 2
(𝑥 2 + 8𝑥 + 16) + (𝑦 2 + 10𝑦 + 25) = −9 + 16 + 25
(𝑥 + 4)2 + (𝑦 + 5)2 = 32

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

Thus, the center is at (−4, −5), and the radius 𝑟 is √𝟑𝟐 or 𝟒√𝟐.

Try It Yourself!
Find the center and radius of the circle 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 − 10𝑥 − 12𝑦 + 45 = 0.

Example 3
Determine the graph of the equation 3𝑥 2 + 3𝑦 2 + 12𝑥 + 18𝑦 + 42 = 0.

Solution
Simplify the equation by dividing the equation by the common factor 3.

3𝑥 2 + 3𝑦 2 + 12𝑥 + 18𝑦 + 42 = 0
𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 4𝑥 + 6𝑦 + 14 = 0

Step 1: Group the terms with similar variable, and isolate the constant on one side of
the equation.

(𝑥 2 + 4𝑥) + (𝑦 2 + 6𝑦) = −14

Step 2: Perform the method of completing the square.

4 2 6 2 4 2 6 2
[𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 + ( ) ] + [𝑦 2 + 6𝑦 + ( ) ] = −14 + ( ) + ( )
2 2 2 2
(𝑥 2 + 4𝑥 + 4) + (𝑦 2 + 6𝑦 + 9) = −14 + 4 + 9
(𝑥 + 2)2 + (𝑦 + 3)2 = −1

We have 𝑟 2 = −1, which is less than 0. Thus, there is no graph because the radius 𝒓 = √−𝟏
is imaginary.

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

Try It Yourself!
Determine the graph of the equation 16𝑥 2 + 16𝑦 2 − 16𝑥 + 24𝑦 − 61 = 0.

Real-World Problems
Example 4
A gearing has a small and a large wheel. The line connecting the
centers of the two wheels is parallel to the 𝑥-axis. The equation
of the smaller wheel is (𝑥 − 14)2 + (𝑦 + 4)2 = 16. Find the
equation of the larger wheel which is located to the left of the
smaller wheel, and has a radius twice that of the smaller wheel.

Solution
From the given data, ℎ = 14, 𝑘 = −4, and 𝑟1 = 4.

Since the radius of the bigger circle is twice that of the smaller, 𝑟2 = 8. By illustration, we can
see that the center of the bigger circle is 𝐶(2, −4).

Therefore, the equation of the bigger circle is (𝒙 − 𝟐)𝟐 + (𝒚 + 𝟒)𝟐 = 𝟖𝟐 .

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

Try It Yourself!
Patrick’s bicycle has two identical wheels with a space
of 6 inches between them. When left against a wall,
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the bike measures 4 2 feet long. Find the general form

of equation of the two wheels if they are located in a

Cartesian plane as illustrated, whose coordinate axes
are in feet. (Hint: 1 foot = 12 inches)

Check Your Understanding

1. Given the general form of equation of the circle, complete the table by finding its
center and radius.

Center-Radius
General Form Center Radius
Form

a. 2𝑥 2 + 2𝑦 2 + 8𝑥 − 12𝑦 = −4

b. 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 − 6𝑥 + 9𝑦 − 144 = 0

c. 3𝑥 2 + 3𝑦 2 + 12𝑥 − 24𝑦 − 48 = 0

d. 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 − 6𝑥 − 135 = 0

e. 4𝑥 2 + 4𝑦 2 − 16𝑥 + 8𝑦 + 12 = 0

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

2. Graph the equation 3𝑥 2 + 3𝑦 2 + 6𝑥 + 12𝑦 = 177.

Key Points

● The center-radius form of the equation of a circle follows the form (𝑥 − ℎ)2 +
(𝑦 − 𝑘)2 = 𝑟 2 , where (ℎ, 𝑘) is the center and 𝑟 is the radius.
● The general form of the equation of a circle follows the form 𝐴𝑥 2 + 𝐵𝑦 2 + 𝐶𝑥 + 𝐷𝑦 +
𝐸 = 0, where 𝐴, 𝐵, 𝐶, 𝐷, and 𝐸 are real numbers and 𝐴 and 𝐵 are equal and nonzero.
● To convert an equation from general form to center-radius form, follow the steps
below:
○ Group the terms with similar variables and isolate the constant on one side of
the equation.
○ Perform the method of completing the square.
○ Express the equation in the form (𝑥 − ℎ)2 + (𝑦 − 𝑘)2 = 𝑟 2 , where ℎ, 𝑘, and 𝑟 are
real numbers.
● To convert an equation from center-radius form to general form, follow the steps
below:
○ Expand the square of the binomials
○ Combine the constants and arrange the terms following the form 𝐴𝑥 2 + 𝐵𝑦 2 +
𝐶𝑥 + 𝐷𝑦 + 𝐸 = 0.
● Degenerate cases can be observed when the equation of a circle in general form is
transformed to the center-radius form.
○ If the radius 𝑟 satisfies 𝑟 2 > 0, then the graph is a circle.
○ If the radius 𝑟 satisfies 𝑟 2 = 0, then the graph is a point.
○ If the radius 𝑟 satisfies 𝑟 2 < 0, then there is no graph.

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Grade 10 • Unit 12: Equation of a Circle

Bibliography

Dr. Rossy Math and Science. “Circles”. Accessed June 28, 2018.
https://drrossymathandscience.weebly.com/uploads/1/6/6/9/16699960/class_zone_
-_circles.pdf

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