Let the centre of the circle x2+y2+2gx+2fy+25=0 be in the first quadrant and lie on the line 2x−y=4. Let the area of an equilateral triangle inscribed in the circle be 273. Then the square of the length of the chord of the circle on the line x=1 is
Answer: 80
Solution
The centre (−g,−f) lies on 2x−y=4, so −2g+f=4. An equilateral triangle inscribed in a circle of radius r has area 433r2; setting this to 273 gives r2=36. With r2=g2+f2−25=36, so g2+f2=61, and f=2g+4, substitution gives 5g2+16g−45=0, i.e. (g+5)(5g−9)=0. The first-quadrant centre requires g=−5, f=−6, so the centre is (5,6) and r=6. The distance from (5,6) to the line x=1 is 4, so the chord on x=1 has half-length 36−16=20, and the square of its length is (220)2=80.