A circle has a center that falls on the line y = 5/8x +1 and passes through ( 5 ,2 ) and (3 ,4 ). What is the equation of the circle?

1 Answer
Jun 10, 2017

The equation of the circle is (x-16/3)^2+(y-13/3)^2=50/9

Explanation:

Let C be the mid point of A=(5,2) and B=(3,4)

C=((5+3)/2,(2+4)/2)=(4,3)

The slope of AB is =(4-2)/(3-5)=-2/2=-1

The slope of the line perpendicular to AB is =1

The equation of the line passing trrough C and perpendicular to AB is

y-3=1(x-4)

y=x-1

The intersection of this line with the line y=5/8x+1 gives the center of the circle.

5/8x+1=x-1

3/8x=2

x=16/3

y=16/3-1=13/3

The center of the circle is (16/3,13/3)

The radius of the circle is

r^2=(16/3-5)^2+(13/3-2)^2

=(1/3)^2+(7/3)^2

=50/9

The equation of the circle is

(x-16/3)^2+(y-13/3)^2=50/9

graph{((x-16/3)^2+(y-13/3)^2-50/9)(y-5/8x-1)(y-x+1)=0 [0.604, 9.372, 1.62, 6.002]}