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How to draw Circle Tangent

Steps to draw tangent to a circle at specific point on the circle:

  • Draw Tangent at specific point
  • Draw a circle C1 with center (0,0) and radius r.
  • Assume you need to draw tangent at point (x,y) on the circle.
  • Draw line L1 between (0,0) and (x,y). Extend line beyond (x,y) to point for further use.
  • Draw another circle C2 with center (x,y) and radius r1(r>r1), to find intersection Pt1, Pt2 between line L1 and circle C2.
  • now using Pt1 as center draw circle C3 with radius r2(r>r2>r1). Do same thing for Pt2 to get circle C4 use same radius r2. You'll find intersection Pt3, Pt4 between circle C3 and C4.
  • Draw line passing through Pt3 and Pt4. This line is the tangent to circle C1 at point (x,y).

Steps to draw tangent between two circles:

  • Draw Tangent between two circles
  • Draw Circle C1 with center cp1 and radius r1. Draw Circle C2 with center cp2 and radius r2.
  • Draw Circle C10 with center cp1 and radius = Distance between cp1 and cp2
  • Draw Circle C20 with center cp2 and radius = Distance between cp1 and cp2
  • Find intersection between circle C10 and C2, let it be c2p1, c2p2.
  • Find intersection between circle C20 and C1, let it be c1p1, c1p2.
  • Draw line passing through c1p1 and c2p1. This line is the tangent to both circles C1 and C2.
  • Draw line passing through c1p2 and c2p2. This line is the tangent to both circles C1 and C2.