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AS Maths CIE 

2. Coordinate Geometry

CONTENTS
2.1 Equation of a Straight Line
2.1.1 Basic Coordinate Geometry
2.1.2 Parallel & Perpendicular Gradients
2.1.3 Equation of a Straight Line
2.1.4 Modelling with Straight Lines
2.2 Circles
2.2.1 Equation of a Circle
2.2.2 Finding the Centre & Radius
2.2.3 Bisection of Chords
2.2.4 Angle in a Semicircle
2.2.5 Radius & Tangent

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2.1 Equation of a Straight Line YOUR NOTES


2.1.1 Basic Coordinate Geometry

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Basic Coordinate Geometry YOUR NOTES

What is basic coordinate geometry? 
Basic coordinate geometry refers to working with points, lines and shapes on the
coordinate axis
Cartesian coordinates are simply the x -y coordinate system
Using coordinates you can
Calculate the distance between two points (length of a line)
Divide lines in m:n ratio,
Find the mid-point of a line
Calculate the area of a triangle (or other shapes)
Find missing coordinates using any of the above
Most of these involve working with straight line graphs
Straight line graphs are of the form y = mx + c
m is the gradient
c is the y-axis intercept
Part of a straight line is called a line segment

How do I find the length of a line (segment)?

By finding the distance, d, between two points (x1, y1) (x2, y2)
Pythagoras’ Theorem (a2 = b2 + c2) is used to find the length of a line

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How do I find the midpoint of a line (segment)?

M is often used as the midpoint between two points (x1, y1) (x2, y2)
It is the average of both the x and y coordinates

 Exam Tip
Work with the square of a distance for as long as possible as this avoids early
rounding errors and surds.
Only square root when forced to or for a final answer, and use the ANS button
(and other memory features) on your calculator.

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 Worked Example
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2.1.2 Parallel & Perpendicular Gradients YOUR NOTES

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Parallel & Perpendicular Gradients YOUR NOTES

What are parallel lines? 

Parallel lines are equidistant meaning they never meet

Parallel lines have equal gradients

What are perpendicular lines?

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Perpendicular lines meet at right angles

The product of their gradients is -1

What are collinear lines?

Collinear lines are two line segments that are part of the same line
They have equal gradients and pass through, or meet at, a point
Rearrange their equations into the same form and they will be identical

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How do I tell if lines are parallel or perpendicular?

Rearrange equations into the form y = mx + c
m is the gradient

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Exam Tip YOUR NOTES

 Exam questions are good at “hiding” parallel and perpendicular lines.

For example a tangent and a radius are perpendicular.
Parallel lines could be implied by phrases like “… at the same rate …”

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 Worked Example
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2.1.3 Equation of a Straight Line YOUR NOTES

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Equation of a Straight Line YOUR NOTES

What is the equation of a straight line? 
y = mx + c is the equation for any straight line
m is gradient given by “difference in y” ÷ “difference in x” or dy/dx
c is the y-axis intercept
Alternative form is ax + by + c = 0 where a, b and c are integers

How do I find the equation of a straight line?

Two features of a straight line are needed

gradient, m
a point the line passes through, (x1, y1)
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The equation can then be found using y – y1 = m(x - x1) YOUR NOTES
This can be arranged into either y = mx + c or ax +by + c = 0 

How do I find the gradient of a straight line?

There are lots of ways to find the gradient of a line
Using two points on a line to find the change in y divided by change in x
y2 − y1
m=
x2 − x1

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Using the fact that lines are parallel or perpendicular to another line (see Parallel and
Perpendicular Gradients)

Using Tangents and Normals - Differentiation (see Gradients, Tangents & Normals)

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Other ways
Collinear lines are the same straight line so gradients are equal
Angle facts and circle theorems
eg. a radius and tangent are perpendicular

 Exam Tip
Working with straight lines can involve lots of algebra, but sketching a diagram
will always help.
Use a sketch to check if answers seem about right.

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 Worked Example
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2.1.4 Modelling with Straight Lines YOUR NOTES



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Modelling with Straight Lines YOUR NOTES

What is modelling with straight lines? 
Modelling means applying the mathematics to a real-life situation
The model is used to find or predict future values
Models will often need refining to improve their accuracy

How do I work with straight line models?

Turn the words from the question into mathematical equations
In y = mx + c constants “m” and “c” will have a meaning
gradient “m” will be the rate of change
eg extension in a spring per 1 kg of mass added
y-axis intercept “c” will be the initial value
eg resting length of a spring

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

The skills needed are covered in the other pages of the section Equation of a Straight Line

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 Worked Example
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2.2 Circles YOUR NOTES


2.2.1 Equation of a Circle

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Equation of a Circle YOUR NOTES

What do I need to know about the equation of a circle? 
A circle with centre (a, b) and radius r has the equation
(x − a )2 + (y − b )2 = r2

You need to be able to find the centre and radius of a circle from its equation

You need to be able to find the equation of a circle given its centre and radius

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 Exam Tip
Remember that the numbers in the brackets have the opposite signs to the
coordinates of the centre.

Don't forget to take the square root of the right-hand side of the equation
when finding the radius.

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 Worked Example
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2.2.2 Finding the Centre & Radius YOUR NOTES

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Finding the Centre & Radius YOUR NOTES

How can I find the centre and radius from any form of the equation of a 
circle?
A circle equation in a different form can always be rearranged into (x- a)2 + (y - b)2 = r2 form
in order to find the centre and radius
This will often involve completing the square

 Exam Tip
Make sure you are able to rearrange circle equations given in the general form
x 2 + y 2 + 2fx + 2gy + c = 0

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 Worked Example
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2.2.3 Bisection of Chords YOUR NOTES

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Bisection of Chords YOUR NOTES

How can I find the equation of a perpendicular bisector? 
The perpendicular bisector of a line segment:
is perpendicular to the line segment
goes through the midpoint of the line segment

The midpoint and gradient of the line segment between points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) are given
by the formulae

The gradient of the perpendicular bisector is therefore

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The equation of the perpendicular bisector is the equation of the line with that gradient
through the line segment's midpoint (see Equation of a Straight Line)
How can I use perpendicular bisectors to find the equation of a circle?
A chord of a circle is a straight line segment between any two points on the circle

The perpendicular bisector of a chord always goes through the centre of the circle

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If you know three points on a circle, draw two chords between them – the perpendicular
bisectors of the chords will meet at the centre of the circle

Now that you know the centre of the circle and a point on the circle you can write the
equation of the circle

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Exam Tip YOUR NOTES

 To find the point of intersection of two straight lines, set the equations of the

lines equal to each other and solve.

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 Worked Example
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2.2.4 Angle in a Semicircle YOUR NOTES

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Angle in a Semicircle YOUR NOTES

What is the angle in a semicircle property? 
It is always possible to draw a unique circle through the three vertices of a triangle – this is
called the circumcircle of the triangle

The angle in a semicircle property says that If a triangle is right-angled, then its
hypotenuse is a diameter of its circumcircle

It also says that any angle at the circumference in a semicircle is a right angle

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How can I use the angle in a semicircle property to find the equation of a YOUR NOTES
circle? 
Because the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is a diameter of the triangle's
circumcircle you also know that:
1. the radius of the circumcircle is half the length of the hypotenuse
2. the centre of the circumcircle is the midpoint of the hypotenuse

Once you know the radius and the centre you can write down the equation of the circle

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Exam Tip YOUR NOTES

 To show that a triangle is right-angled, show that the lengths of its sides satisfy

Pythagoras' theorem.

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 Worked Example
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2.2.5 Radius & Tangent YOUR NOTES

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Radius & Tangent YOUR NOTES

What is the relationship between tangents and radii? 
A tangent is a line that touches a circle at a single point but doesn't cut across the circle

A tangent to a circle is perpendicular to the radius of the circle at the point of intersection

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How can I find the equation of the tangent line to a circle at a given point?

STEP 1: Find the gradient of the radius OP

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STEP 2: Find the gradient of the tangent

STEP 3: The equation of the tangent is the equation of the line with that gradient that goes
through point P (see Equation of a Straight Line)

 Exam Tip
If you understand the formula in Step 2 above, you can find the gradient of the
tangent without having to find the gradient of the radius first.

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 Worked Example
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