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Geometry and Trigonometry Difficulty: Hard

What is the diameter of the circle in the xy-plane with equation x - 5 2 + y - 3 2 = 16 ?

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Explanation

Choice B is correct. The standard form of an equation of a circle in the xy-plane is x-h2+y-k2=r2, where the coordinates of the center of the circle are h,k and the length of the radius of the circle is r . For the circle in the xy-plane with equation x-52+y-32=16, it follows that r2=16. Taking the square root of both sides of this equation yields r = 4 or r = -4 . Because r represents the length of the radius of the circle and this length must be positive, r = 4 . Therefore, the radius of the circle is 4 . The diameter of a circle is twice the length of the radius of the circle. Thus, 24 yields 8 . Therefore, the diameter of the circle is 8 .

Choice A is incorrect. This is the radius of the circle. 

Choice C is incorrect. This is the square of the radius of the circle. 

Choice D is incorrect and may result from conceptual or calculation errors.