A center of a circle with a parabola

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on determining the center of a circle with a radius of 1 that is tangent to a given parabola. The user successfully derived the equations for the points of tangency and utilized the relationship between the slopes of the tangent line and the line connecting the center of the circle to the points of tangency. The final solution identified the center of the circle as (0, 1.25), confirming the calculations by checking with another point on the parabola.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of parabolic equations and their properties
  • Knowledge of coordinate geometry, specifically circles and tangents
  • Familiarity with slope calculations and perpendicular lines
  • Ability to solve systems of equations involving multiple variables
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the properties of tangents to parabolas and their slopes
  • Learn about the geometric relationship between circles and parabolas
  • Explore methods for solving systems of equations in coordinate geometry
  • Investigate advanced topics in calculus related to curve tangents
USEFUL FOR

Mathematicians, geometry students, and anyone interested in solving problems involving circles and parabolas will benefit from this discussion.

inferi
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
hi,

I have this question which is a challenging problem:
in this link you will veiw the graph of the question https://www.physicsforums.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11650&d=1195680084

the question is to find the center of the circle which it's radius is equal to 1.
the parabola equation is shown in the link and that's all the question.
what i did so far that i took the two points that toch the curve and with the center of the circle and i found the distance between them which is equal to the radius 1.
so let's say that the center of the circle (h,k) and the point that tocuh the curve in the first querter is (x1,y1) and the other point is (-x2,y2) and the x2 is mines because it is in the second querter.
do the final equations are:
(x1-h)^2+(y1-k)^2=(1)^2
(-x2-h)^2+(y2-k)^2=(1)^2

the center of the circle is on the y-axies so h=0 and we substitute x1 and -x2 in the parabola equation so we can get y.

x1^2+(x1^2-k)^2=1
x2^2+(x2^2-k)^2=1

but there are three unknown so i need anothe equation i asked a teacher and he told me to find the conecation between the parabola and the two points and i do not know how to finish this question.
so anyone can please help? thank you
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
Call the center of the circle [itex](0, y_1)[/itex] and the point at the circle touches the parabola [itex](x_0, x_0^2)[/itex] (with [itex]x_0[/itex] positive). The slope of the line from [itex](0,y_1)[/itex] to [itex](x_0,x_0^2)[/itex] is [itex](x_0^2- y_1)/x_0[/itex] while the slope of the tangent line to the parabola is [itex]2x_0[/itex]. Since those two lines are perpendicular the product of the two slopes is -1:
[tex]2x_0\frac{x_0^2- y_1}{x_0}= 2(x_0^2- y_1)= -1.[/tex]
 
Thanks i got it the center is (0,1.25) and i used the other point just to make sure and it gave me the same answer.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K