Center-Radius vs.

General Form
 Center-Radius Form of Equation
 

of a Circle
the equation of a circle in the form , where
is the center and is the radius
Example:
 

is an equation of a circle in
center-radius form where is the
center and the radius is units.
 General Form of Equation of a
 

2 Circle
the equation of a circle in the form ,
where , , , , and are real numbers and
and are equal and nonzero.
Example:
 

and are equations of circles in

general form.
Converting General Form to Center-
 

Radius Form
1. Group terms with similar variables and isolate the
constant on one side of the equation
2. Perform the method of completing the square.
3. Express the equation in the form , where , , and
are real numbers.
Example:
 

The center-radius form of

is obtained through the
following steps.
 
1. Group terms with similar variables and isolate the constant
on one side of the equation.

2. Perform the method of completing the square.

 
3. Express the equation in the form .

Thus, the equation in center-radius form is

.
 Converting Center-Radius Form
 

to General Form
1. Expand the square of the binomials.
2. Combine the constants and arrange the
terms following the form
.
Example:
 

Convert
to general form.
1. Expand the square of the binomials.
 
 
2. Combine the constants and arrange the terms following
the form .

The equation in general form is .

Degenerate Cases
 

Given the center-radius form of equation, if

the radius satisfies
• , then the graph is a circle.
• , then the graph is a point.
• , then the equation has no graph.
 
Examples:
The graph of the equation is a circle since .
The graph of the equation is a point since .
The equation has no graph since
.
Example 1: Write the
 

equation in center-
radius form.
Solution:
 

1. Group terms with similar variables and

isolate the constant on one side of the
equation.
Solution:
 

2. Perform the method of completing the square.

Solution:
 

Therefore, the center-radius form of

is .
Example 2: Determine the
 

center and radius of the circle

represented by the equation .
Solution:
 

1.Divide both sides of the equation by .

Solution:
 

2. Group terms with similar variables and

isolate the constant on one side of the
equation.
 
Solution:
 

3. Perform the method of completing the square.

Solution:
 

Solution:
 

4. Determine the center and the radius of the circle.

In the given equation in center-radius form, , , and .

Thus, the center is at and the radius is units.