A linear equation is any equation that can be
written in the form
ax+b=0
where a and b are real numbers and x is a
variable. This form is sometimes called the
standard form of a linear equation. Note that
most linear equations will not start off in this
form. Also, the variable may or may not be an x
so don’t get too locked into always seeing an x
there.
Point-Slope Form
Another common one is the Point-Slope Form
of the equation of a straight line:
y − y1 = m(x − x1)
General Form
And there is also the General Form of the
equation of a straight line:
Ax + By + C = 0
(A and B cannot both be 0)
Slope
The slope of a line tells two things: how steep
the line is with respect to the y axis and
whether the line slopes up or down when you
look at it from left to right. When you're
plotting data, slope tells you the rate at which
the dependent variable is changing with respect
to the change in the independent variable. This
gives you a valuable clue about how to find
slope: Pick any two points on the line. To find
how fast y is changing, subtract the y value of
the second point from the y value of the first
point (y2 – y1). To find how fast x is changing,
subtract the x value of the second point from
the x value of the first point (x2 – x1). To find
the rate at which y is changing with respect to
the change in x, write your results as a ratio: (y2
– y1)/(x2 – x1).
Slope-Intercept Form
The equation of a line can be written in a form
that gives away the slope and allows you to
draw the line without any computation. If
students are comfortable with solving a simple
two-step linear equation, they can write linear
equations in slope-intercept form. The slope-
intercept form of a linear equation is y = mx + b.
In the equation, x and y are the variables. The
numbers m and b give the slope of the line (m)
and the value of y when x is 0 (b). The value of y
when x is 0 is called the y-intercept because
(0,y) is the point at which the line crosses the y
axis. You can draw the line for an equation in
this form by plotting (0,b), then using m to find
another point. For example, if m is 1/2, count
positive2 on the x axis, then positive1 on the y
axis to get to another point (1, b + 2)
ARC: a curved line that is part of the
circumference of a circle
CHORD: a line segment within a circle that
touches 2 points on the circle.
CIRCUMFERENCE: the distance around the
circle.
DIAMETER: the longest distance from one end
of a circle to the other.
ORIGIN: the center of the circle
PI (PI): A number, 3.141592..., equal to (the
circumference) / (the diameter) of any circle.
RADIUS: distance from center of circle to any
point on it.
SECTOR: is like a slice of pie (a circle wedge).
TANGENT OF CIRCLE: a line perpendicular to the
radius that touches ONLY one point on the
circle.
Equation of Circle: (cartesian coordinates) For any angle "θ":

graph circle for a circle with center (j, k) and sin=opposite/hypotenuse

radius (r): (x-j)2 + (y-k)2 = r2 cos=adjacent/hypotenuse
tan=opposite/adjacent
Equation of Circle: (polar coordinates) for a
circle with center (0, 0): r(theta) = radius for a
circle with center with polar coordinates: (c,
What you just played with is the Unit Circle.
alpha) and radius a: r2 - 2cr cos(theta - alpha) +
c2 = a2 It is a circle with a radius of 1 with its center at
0.
Equation of a Circle: (parametric coordinates)
for a circle with origin (j, k) and radius r: Because the radius is 1, we can directly measure
sine, cosine and tangent.
x(t) = r cos(t) + j y(t) = r sin(t) + k
Angles can be in Degrees or Radians. Here are
some examples:

Angle Degrees Radians

Right Angle 90° π/2

Straight Angle 180° π

Right angle Full Rotation 360° 2π

The technique of completing the square is used

Another angle is often labeled θ, and the three
sides are then called:
Adjacent: adjacent (next to) the angle θ
to turn a quadratic into the sum of a squared
binomial and a number: (x – a)2 + b. The center-
radius form of the circle equation is in the
format (x – h)2 + (y – k)2 = r2, with the center
being at the point (h, k) and the radius being
"r". This form of the equation is helpful, since
you can easily find the center and the radius.

Opposite: opposite the angle θ
and the longest side is the Hypotenuse
The main functions in trigonometry are Sine,
Cosine and Tangent
They are simply one side of a right-angled
triangle divided by another.
But circle equations are often given in the
general format of ax2 + by2 + cx + dy + e = 0,
When you are given this general form of
equation and told to find the center and radius
of a circle, you will have to "complete the
square" to convert the equation to center-
radius form. This lesson explains how to make
that conversion.