Algebra · real student question

Describe and sketch the region in the plane defined by the simultaneous inequalities x^2 + y^2 <= 9 and y <= x + 1, including the points where the boundary line meets the circle.

Question

Describe and sketch the region defined by

{x2+y29yx+1\begin{cases} x^{2}+y^{2}\leq 9 \\ y\leq x+1 \end{cases}

including the points where the boundary line meets the circle.

Step-by-step solution

  1. Interpret the first inequality as a filled disk. The equation x2+y2=9x^{2}+y^{2}=9 is the circle centred at the origin with radius 9=3\sqrt{9}=3. Because the inequality is \leq, the region is the circle together with its interior — a closed disk. Draw the circle as a solid curve to signal that the boundary is included.

  2. Interpret the second inequality as a closed half-plane. The boundary y=x+1y=x+1 is a line of slope 11 through (0,1)(0,1) and (1,0)(-1,0). Since yx+1y\leq x+1, we keep the side below the line; test the origin, where 00+10\leq 0+1 is true, so the half-plane containing (0,0)(0,0) is the correct one. Draw this line solid too.

  3. Find where the boundary line cuts the circle. Substitute y=x+1y=x+1 into x2+y2=9x^{2}+y^{2}=9:

    x2+(x+1)2=9  2x2+2x+1=9  2x2+2x8=0  x2+x4=0x^{2}+(x+1)^{2}=9\ \Longrightarrow\ 2x^{2}+2x+1=9\ \Longrightarrow\ 2x^{2}+2x-8=0\ \Longrightarrow\ x^{2}+x-4=0

    The quadratic formula gives

    x=1±1+162=1±172x=\frac{-1\pm\sqrt{1+16}}{2}=\frac{-1\pm\sqrt{17}}{2}

  4. Convert to the two intersection points. Using y=x+1y=x+1 on each root,

    (1+172, 1+172)and(1172, 1172)\left(\frac{-1+\sqrt{17}}{2},\ \frac{1+\sqrt{17}}{2}\right)\quad\text{and}\quad\left(\frac{-1-\sqrt{17}}{2},\ \frac{1-\sqrt{17}}{2}\right)

    Numerically these are about (1.5616,2.5616)(1.5616,\,2.5616) and (2.5616,1.5616)(-2.5616,\,-1.5616); substituting either into x2+y2x^{2}+y^{2} returns exactly 9.09.0, so both really do lie on the circle. Since the discriminant 17>017>0, the line is a genuine secant, not a tangent.

  5. Describe the resulting region. The answer is the major portion of the closed disk: everything inside or on the circle of radius 33 that also lies on or below the line y=x+1y=x+1. The chord joining the two intersection points slices off the small circular segment above the line, and that segment is the only part of the disk excluded. Both boundary pieces — the circular arc and the chord — belong to the region because both inequalities are non-strict.

Answer

{(x,y):x2+y29 and yx+1} — the closed disk of radius 3 below the secant y=x+1, which meets the circle at x=1±172\{(x,y): x^{2}+y^{2}\leq 9 \text{ and } y\leq x+1\}\ \text{— the closed disk of radius } 3 \text{ below the secant } y=x+1,\ \text{which meets the circle at } x=\frac{-1\pm\sqrt{17}}{2}

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