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Q. The locus of the mid points of the chords of the circle $ x^2 + y^2 = 4$ which subtend a right angle at the origin is

KCETKCET 2009Conic Sections

Solution:

Let mid point of the chord $A B$ is $C\left(x_{1}, y_{1}\right)$.
In $\Delta C O B, \sin \frac{\pi}{4}=\frac{B C}{O B}$
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$\Rightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\, \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}=\frac{B C}{2}$
$\Rightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\, B C=\sqrt{2}$
Using Pythagoras theorem
$O B^{2}=O C^{2}+C B^{2}$
$\Rightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\,(2)^{2}=x_{1}^{2}+y_{1}^{2}+(\sqrt{2})^{2} $
$\Rightarrow \,\,\,\,\,\, x_{1}^{2}+y_{1}^{2}=2$
Hence, locus of mid point of chord is
$x^{2}+y^{2}=2$