NDA Maths · Teaching notes

Circles — NDA Maths

Circles is a compact but reliably tested chapter: 27 PYQs span 2017–2026, and the hard pockets are concentrated in the construction problems — building a circle through given points and reading off inscribed-angle facts. Almost every question is one of three moves: convert the general equation to centre-and-radius form, build a circle from given data (three points, a diameter, a centre on a line, or a family through a chord), or use a circle property (perpendicular from the centre bisects a chord, the angle in a semicircle is a right angle, a tangent is perpendicular to the radius). The notes teach in three movements, foundations first: (1) Circle Equation — what a circle equation is, both standard and general form, how to extract the centre and radius, and the everyday properties (intercepts, chords, touching the axes, two-circle intersection) that most EASY/MODERATE questions test; (2) Circles Through Given Points & Concyclicity — the general-equation system for three points, the perpendicular-bisector and centre-on-a-line methods, the family of circles through a chord, the concyclicity test, and the right-triangle circumcentre shortcut — this is where the HARD marks live; (3) Inscribed Geometry, Tangents & Segments — the angle in a semicircle and the inscribed-angle theorem, circles that touch the axes, inscribed squares, the tangent–normal relationship, and segment areas. Centre-and-radius extraction is the chapter's centre of gravity — get fluent at completing the square (including the divide-by-the-leading-coefficient step) and most of the chapter opens up. Every PYQ is tagged.

Subtopic notes

PYQ weightage by concept

20 concepts · 27 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first

Circle Equation — Centre, Radius & Properties11 PYQs · 41%
ConceptPYQsShare
General Form — Centre and Radius by Completing the Square27%
Diameter Form — Circle From Two Endpoints27%
Circles That Touch the Axes27%
What a Circle Equation Is14%
Intercepts a Circle Cuts on the Axes14%
Perpendicular From the Centre Bisects a Chord14%
Two Circles — Intersecting, Touching, Separate14%
Circle Through the Origin With Given Axis Intercepts14%
Circles Through Given Points & Concyclicity9 PYQs · 33%
ConceptPYQsShare
Extracting Centre and Radius From Three Points27%
Concyclicity — Does a Fourth Point Lie on the Circle?27%
Building a Circle From Diameter Endpoints14%
Circle Through Three Points — the General-Equation System14%
Centre on a Given Line — Perpendicular-Bisector Method14%
Family of Circles Through a Chord (the S + λL Trick)14%
Circumcentre of a Right Triangle — Midpoint of the Hypotenuse14%
Inscribed Geometry, Tangents & Segments7 PYQs · 26%
ConceptPYQsShare
Inscribed Angle and the Angle in a Semicircle27%
Areas of the Minor and Major Segments27%
Points Where a Circle Touches the Axes14%
A Square Inscribed in a Circle14%
Tangent and Normal at a Point of Contact14%

Formula & revision sheet

20 formulas · 20 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet

Circle Equation — Centre, Radius & Properties

Formulas (8)

Watch out for (8)

Circles Through Given Points & Concyclicity

Formulas (7)

Watch out for (6)

Inscribed Geometry, Tangents & Segments

Formulas (5)

Watch out for (6)