When a circle's centre C(h,k) is not the origin, the same distance-formula argument used for the standard form gives (x−h)2+(y−k)2=r2: for any point P(x,y) on the circle, CP=r, and squaring gives this equation directly. Reading it in reverse, any equation of this shape can be matched against the pattern to read off the centre (h,k) (the values being subtracted from x and y) and the radius r (the square root of the right-hand side) without any further computation. This form is the natural target whenever a problem gives (or lets you compute) a centre and a radius — e.g. a circle touching an axis (radius = distance from the centre to that axis), touching a given line (radius = perpendicular distance from the centre to the line), or passing through a known point (radius = distance from the centre to that point). It generalises the standard form (Section 6.1.1), which is just the special case h=k=0.