How do you write the equation for a circle with center of circle (-3,0) radius with endpoint (3,0)?

1 Answer
Aug 27, 2017

(x+3)^2 + y^2 = 36

Explanation:

The equation of a circle is (x-h)^2 + (y-k)^2 = r^2, where (h,k) is the center and r is the radius.

If the center is at (-3,0) and the endpoint of the radius is at (3,0), then the length of the radius is the distance between the two points, which is 3-(-3) = 6.

We can substitute color(blue)((color(blue)(-3, 0)) for (h,k), and color(red)6 for r.

(x-h)^2 + (y-k)^2 = r^2

(x- color(blue)((-3)))^2 + (y-color(blue)0)^2 = color(red)6^2

(x+3)^2 + y^2 = 36

We can check this by graphing. The center of the circle is at (-3,0) and the endpoint of the radius is at (3,0), so our equation is correct.

![desmos.com](useruploads.socratic.org)