SAT Circles Practice Question 2 (Easy)

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Question bank / Circles

Math · Geometry and TrigonometryEasy

A circle in the $xy$ -plane has equation $(x - 3)^2 + (y + 2)^2 = 16$ . What are the center and radius of the circle?

Center $(-3, 2)$ , radius $4$

Center $(3, -2)$ , radius $16$

Center $(3, -2)$ , radius $4$

Center $(-3, 2)$ , radius $16$

Show answer and explanation

Answer: C

The standard form is $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2$ , with center $(h, k)$ and radius $r$ . Here $h = 3$ , $k = -2$ , and $r^2 = 16$ , so the center is $(3, -2)$ and the radius is $4$ .

Choice B uses $16$ as the radius, but $16$ is $r^2$ .

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