We must get it in the standard form: (x-h)² + (y-k)² = r² where the center is (h,k) and the radius is r. x² + 10x - 6y + 7 = 0 x² + y² - 2x + 6y - 3 = 0 Get the x terms together and the y terms together x² - 2x + y² + 6y = 3 We must complete the square on each part, by adding a number after the x-terms and the y terms. IOW we have blanks to fill in here: x² - 2x + __ + y² + 6y + __ = 3 + __ + __ To fill in the first blank on the left and the first blank on the right side: 1. Multiply the coefficient of x which is -2 bygetting -1 2. Square this, getting (-1)² = +1 3. Add this to both sides of the equation: x² - 2x + 1 + y² + 6y + __ = 3 + 1 + __ To fill in the second blank on the left and the second blank on the right side: 1. Multiply the coefficient of y which is +6 by getting +3 2. Square this, getting (+3)² = +9 3. Add this to both sides of the equation: x² - 2x + 1 + y² + 6y + 9 = 3 + 1 + 9 The first three terms on the left side of the equation factor as x²-2x+1 = (x-1)(x-1) = (x-1)² The last three terms on the left side of the equation factor as y²+6y+9 = (y+3)(y+3) = (y+3)² We combine the numbers on the right side (x-1)² + (y+3)² = 13 Compare that to the standard equation for a circle (x-h)² + (y-k)² = r² where the center is (h,k) and the radius is r. We see by comparison that h=1, k=-3 and r = So the center is (1,-3) and the radius is . Edwin