Distance Between Centre and a Line

Rarely Tested

Distance Between Centre and a Line

For centre $$(h,k)$$ and line:

$$ Ax+By+C=0 $$

the perpendicular distance is:

$$ d=\frac{|Ah+Bk+C|}{\sqrt{A^2+B^2}} $$

Usage

- Used to determine the distance of a circle's centre from a given line, especially in tangency problems.

Question 1

The sum of the squares of the lengths of the chords intercepted by the line $$x+y=n,$$ where $$n\in\mathbb N,$$ on the circle $$x^2+y^2=4,$$ is:

Question 2

A circle passes through the origin $$(0,0)$$ and has a radius of $$5$$ units. If the circle is tangent to the line $$y=8$$, what is a possible equation for this circle?

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