"Warren" wrote in
:

I have a yard area that I want to put a circular raised be in. The
area is sort of a wedge with the tip chopped-off, except that one of
the sides (the west) is along side a driveway that flares into the
area as it approaches the south side (the street).

The south side is 10' long. The east side is 31' long. The north side
is 30' long. The west side is two segments, with a very obtuse angle
(not quite a straight line); the north segment on the west side is 14'
long, and the south segment is 10' long. The northwest and southeast
corners are 90-degrees. The northeast corner is a little acute. The
southwest corner is a little obtuse.

I want to create the biggest circle I can that touches the east, south
(the street), and west (the driveway) sides. (It should not touch the
north side.)

If things don't add-up right, keep in mind that the measurements were
rounded to the nearest half-foot, and the exact location of the
northeast corner could be off slightly.

How big should the circle be?

My guess is that it's going to be around 11' or 12' in diameter. The
problem is that because of what's planted where, and when I can do the
work, I'll need to dig-up, and layout the northeast 2/3 of the circle
before I can clear the southwest 1/3. I can guess at a center point,
and sweep a string along that 2/3 of the northeast side, but I can't
sweep it over the southwest 1/3 to be sure it touches both the south
and the west side, but doesn't go over either. There's only so much
I'll be able to fudge the circle without people noticing it's not
really round.

So is there anyone out there who did better in geometry class than I
did who can tell me how close I am?

Thanks


pick a set of reference coordinates. You know the east, south and west
are tangent to the circle. equation of line is y-b=m(x-a), circle (x-c)^
2 + (y-d)^2 = r^2. Solve for c, d, r. Choose the r the fits your
criteria.

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