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NCERT Exemplar · Q7

Q.Show that if x2+y2=1x^2+y^2=1, then the point (x, y, 1−x2−y2)\left(x,\ y,\ \sqrt{1-x^2-y^2}\right) is at a distance 1 unit from the origin.

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The key idea is that the given point lies on the unit sphere. Substituting the constraint x2+y2=1x^2+y^2=1 into the expression for distance from the origin simplifies directly to 1, confirming the result.

We are asked to show that if x2+y2=1x^2 + y^2 = 1, then the point

(x, y, 1−x2−y2)(x,\ y,\ \sqrt{1 - x^2 - y^2})

is exactly 1 unit away from the origin.

The distance from any point (a,b,c)(a,b,c) to the origin (0,0,0)(0,0,0) is given by the Euclidean distance formula:

a2+b2+c2.\sqrt{a^2 + b^2 + c^2}.

So here, we need to compute

x2+y2+(1−x2−y2)2.\sqrt{x^2 + y^2 + \left(\sqrt{1 - x^2 - y^2}\right)^2}.

The trick is to notice that the third coordinate is defined using the same expression x2+y2x^2 + y^2 that appears in the constraint. This is not a coincidence — the point is designed to lie on the surface of a sphere of radius 1.

Let’s work through it step by step.

  1. Write the distance formula The distance dd from the origin to the point is

d=x2+y2+(1−x2−y2)2.d = \sqrt{x^2 + y^2 + \left(\sqrt{1 - x^2 - y^2}\right)^2}.

  1. Simplify the square of the square root For any non-negative real number tt, (t)2=t(\sqrt{t})^2 = t. Here t=1−x2−y2t = 1 - x^2 - y^2, so

(1−x2−y2)2=1−x2−y2.\left(\sqrt{1 - x^2 - y^2}\right)^2 = 1 - x^2 - y^2.

This is valid because x2+y2=1x^2 + y^2 = 1 ensures 1−x2−y2=01 - x^2 - y^2 = 0, which is non-negative.

  1. Substitute into the distance expression

d=x2+y2+(1−x2−y2).d = \sqrt{x^2 + y^2 + (1 - x^2 - y^2)}.

  1. Combine like terms The x2x^2 and y2y^2 terms cancel: x2+y2−x2−y2=0,…x^2 + y^2 - x^2 - y^2 = 0, …

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