Derivation of the Sphere's Standard Equation

Derivation of the Sphere's Standard Equation
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2015-11-18 08:02
This example provides a visual tool to derive the standard form equation of a sphere. It demonstrates the geometric definition of a sphere (set of points equidistant from a center) and its algebraic transformation into (x−h)²+(y−k)²+(z−l)² = r². The GeoGebra construction uses commands such as Intersect, Point, Sphere, Plane, PointIn, OrthogonalLine, Line, Polygon, Segment, and Angle, and defines objects like O, B₁, a, C, b, P, etc., allowing dynamic manipulation of parameters a, b, c to illustrate the locus of the center and radius changes, leading to the final equation. It is intended for high‑school or early university students studying coordinate geometry and algebraic derivations.

GeoGebra Commands & Parameters

  1. Intersect(yAxis, zAxis) → O
  2. Point(xAxis) → B_1
  3. Sphere(O, B_1) → a
  4. Point(yAxis) → C
  5. Plane(O, C, B_1) → b
  6. PointIn(a) → P
  7. OrthogonalLine(P, b) → c
  8. Line(O, B_1) → d
  9. Intersect(c, d) → B
  10. Polygon(O, P, B) → poly1, e, a_1, d_1
  11. Plane(O, B, P) → f
  12. OrthogonalLine(B, f) → g
  13. Intersect(g, a, 2) → A
  14. Polygon(O, A, B) → poly2, e_1, a_2, f_1
  15. Segment(O, A) → h
  16. Segment(B, A) → i
  17. Segment(B, P) → j
  18. Segment(O, P) → k
  19. Angle(P, B, O) → α
  20. Angle(A, B, O) → β