127k views
4 votes
The point P is on the unit circle. Find P(x, y) from the given information. The x-coordinate of P is -1/4, and P lies above the x-axis. What is the y-coordinate of P?

User Busata
by
7.8k points

1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

To find the y-coordinate of point P on the unit circle with an x-coordinate of -1/4 and above the x-axis, use the Pythagorean theorem to solve for y.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the y-coordinate of point P on the unit circle, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. Since P lies above the x-axis, the y-coordinate will be positive.

We know the x-coordinate is -1/4, so we can substitute it into the Pythagorean theorem:

(-1/4)^2 + y^2 = 1^2

1/16 + y^2 = 1

y^2 = 1 - 1/16

y^2 = 15/16

y = ±√(15/16)

Since P lies above the x-axis, we take the positive root: y = √(15/16)

User GregNash
by
7.6k points