Let the circle C touch the line , have the center on the positive x-axis, and cut off a chord of length along the line . Let H be the hyperbola , whose one of the foci is the center of C and the length of the transverse axis is the diameter of C. Then is equal to:
JEE Mathematics 2025 Question with Solution
Answer
Correct answer:19
Step-by-step solution
Standard Method
Given: The circle has center on the positive x-axis, touches the line , and the chord cut by the line has length .
Find: The value of for the hyperbola .
Let the center of the circle be and radius be . Since the circle touches the line , the perpendicular distance from to this line equals :
As the center lies on the positive x-axis, we take
Now use the chord-length condition for the line . Writing it as , the perpendicular distance from the center is
For a circle, chord length cut by a line at distance from the center is
So,
Substitute and :
Squaring,
Hence,
Expanding,
Solving,
so
Since the center lies on the positive x-axis, we take
Therefore,
For the hyperbola , the transverse axis length is . It is given equal to the diameter of the circle, which is . Thus,
so
One focus of the hyperbola is the center of the circle, that is at distance from the origin. For the hyperbola, focus distance satisfies
Hence,
So,
Now compute
Therefore, the required value is .
Using tangent and chord-distance formulas
Given: A circle with center on the positive x-axis touches and the line cuts a chord of length .
Find: The value of for the associated hyperbola.
The tangent condition gives radius as the distance from the center to the tangent line. The chord condition gives a second relation using
After finding the circle, use the hyperbola facts:
- transverse axis length ,
- focus distance satisfies .
The solution also shows an incorrect intermediate possibility in one approach, but that contradicts the condition that the center lies on the positive x-axis. Hence the valid center is , which leads consistently to the final answer .
Common mistakes
Taking the negative root for the center coordinate is incorrect because the question explicitly says the center is on the positive x-axis. After solving the quadratic, always apply the geometric condition and choose .
Using the wrong distance formula for the line leads to an incorrect chord relation. Rewrite carefully in standard form and use before applying the chord-length formula.
Confusing the circle radius with the hyperbola focus distance is a conceptual error. The diameter of the circle equals the transverse axis length, so and hence . The focus distance is a different quantity, given by .
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