JEE Main & Advanced Mathematics Circle and System of Circles Question Bank Tangent and normal to a circle

  • question_answer
    If the line y \[\cos \alpha =x\sin \alpha +a\cos \alpha \]be a tangent to the circle \[{{x}^{2}}+{{y}^{2}}={{a}^{2}}\], then

    A)            \[{{\sin }^{2}}\alpha =1\]   

    B)            \[{{\cos }^{2}}\alpha =1\]

    C)            \[{{\sin }^{2}}\alpha ={{a}^{2}}\]                                    

    D)            \[{{\cos }^{2}}\alpha ={{a}^{2}}\]

    Correct Answer: B

    Solution :

               The tangent is y \[\cos \alpha =x\sin \alpha +a\cos \alpha \]                    \[\Rightarrow y=x\tan \alpha +a\]                    It is a tangent to the circle\[{{x}^{2}}+{{y}^{2}}={{a}^{2}}\], if                    \[{{a}^{2}}={{a}^{2}}(1+{{\tan }^{2}}\alpha )\Rightarrow {{\sec }^{2}}\alpha =1\Rightarrow {{\cos }^{2}}\alpha =1\].


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