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The point P is on the unit circle. Find P(x, y) from the given information.

The x-coordinate of P is

8

17


and the y-coordinate is positive.


P(x, y) = ?

Verified Answer :

I always understood the unit circle to have a radius of 1 and be centered on the origin (0,0).  That there are two x coordinates confuses me.  Neither 8 nor 17 is an x value for a line passing through the unit circle, so I'm going to guess "8/17" is the actual x coordinate (which is between -1 and 1).  P(8/17,y) = x^2 + y^2 = 1.

289/289 - 64/289 = 225/289.  The square root of that (positive since y is positive) yields 15/17.  P(x,y) = 8/17, 15/17.