A circle has a center that falls on the line y = 1/7x +4 and passes through ( 5 ,8 ) and (5 ,6 ). What is the equation of the circle?

1 Answer
Feb 18, 2017

The equation of the circle is (x-21)^2+(y-7)^2=257

Explanation:

A line passing through the mid point of (5,8) and (5,6) and

parallel to the x-axis will cut the line y=x/7+4 at the center of

the circle.

Let (a,b) be the center of the circle

7y=7=a/7+4

a/7=7-4=3

a=21 and b=7

The center is (21,7)

The radius of the circle is

r=sqrt((21-5)^2+(7-8)^2)

=sqrt(16^2+1)

=sqrt257

The equation of the circle is

(x-21)^2+(y-7)^2=257

graph{((x-21)^2+(y-7)^2-257)(y-x/7-4)(y-7)=0 [-26.26, 46.76, -9.13, 27.44]}