sat suite question viewer
A circle in the xy-plane has its center at . Line is tangent to this circle at the point . Which of the following points also lies on line ?
Explanation
Choice C is correct. It’s given that the circle has its center at and that line is tangent to this circle at the point . Therefore, the points and are the endpoints of the radius of the circle at the point of tangency. The slope of a line or line segment that contains the points and can be calculated as . Substituting for and for in the expression yields , or . Thus, the slope of this radius is . A line that’s tangent to a circle is perpendicular to the radius of the circle at the point of tangency. It follows that line is perpendicular to the radius at the point , so the slope of line is the negative reciprocal of the slope of this radius. The negative reciprocal of is . Therefore, the slope of line is . Since the slope of line is the same between any two points on line , a point lies on line if the slope of the line segment connecting the point and is . Substituting choice C, , for and for in the expression yields , or . Therefore, the point lies on line .
Choice A is incorrect. The slope of the line segment connecting and is , or , not .
Choice B is incorrect. The slope of the line segment connecting and is , or , not .
Choice D is incorrect. The slope of the line segment connecting and is , or , not .