Join the Most Relevant JEE Main 2025 Test Series & get 99+ percentile! Join Now
Search any question & find its solution
Question: Answered & Verified by Expert
A tangent $P T$ is drawn to the circle $x^{2}+y^{2}=4$ at the point $P(\sqrt{3}, 1)$. A straight line $L$, perpendicular to $P T$ is a tangent to the circle $(x-3)^{2}+y^{2}-1$.

Question: A common tangent of the two circles is
MathematicsCircleJEE AdvancedJEE Advanced 2012 (Paper 2)
Options:
  • A $x=4$
  • B $y=2$
  • C $x+\sqrt{3} y=4$
  • D $x+2 \sqrt{2} y=6$
Solution:
1994 Upvotes Verified Answer
The correct answer is: $x+2 \sqrt{2} y=6$



From the figure it is clear that the intersection point of two direct common tangents lies on $x$-axis.

Also $\Delta P T_{1} C_{1} \sim \Delta P T_{2} C_{2}$

$\therefore \quad P C_{1}: P C_{2}=2: 1$

or $P$ divides $C_{1} C_{2}$ in the ratio $2: 1$ externally

$\therefore \quad$ Coordinates of $P$ are $(6,0)$.

Let the equation of tangent through $P$ be

$y=m(x-6)$

Asit touches $x^{2}+y^{2}=4$

$\therefore\left|\frac{6 m}{\sqrt{m^{2}+1}}\right|=2 \Rightarrow 36 m^{2}=4\left(m^{2}+1\right)$

$\therefore \quad m=\pm \frac{1}{2 \sqrt{2}}$

$\therefore \quad$ Equations of common tangents are

$y=\pm \frac{1}{2 \sqrt{2}}(x-6)$

Also $x=2$ is the common tangent to the two circles.

Looking for more such questions to practice?

Download the MARKS App - The ultimate prep app for IIT JEE & NEET with chapter-wise PYQs, revision notes, formula sheets, custom tests & much more.