CirclesXAT Previous-Year Questions

11 previous-year questions on Circles from XAT, with full solutions. Practise free — check answers as you go; sign in to save your progress.

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11 questions

Circles · XAT PYQs

XAT 2024 · QA & DI
Q1.

The roots of the polynomial P(x) = 2x3 - 11x2 + 17x + 6 are the radii of three concentric circles. The ratio of their area, when arranged from the largest to the smallest, is:

XAT 2021 · Decision Making
Passage / Data

Read the following scenario and answer the three questions that follow.
The following plot describes the height (in cm), weight (in kg), age (in years) and gender (F for female, M for male) of 20 patients visiting a hospital.

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A person’s body mass index (BMI) is calculated as weight (in kg) divided by squared height (measured in square metres). For example, a person weighing 100 kg and of height 100 cm (1m) will have a BMI of 100. A person with BMI less than or equal to 18.5 is considered as underweight, above 18.5 but less than or equal to 25 as normal weight, above 25 but less than or equal to 30 as overweight, and above 30 as obese.

Q2.

Two circles P and Q, each of radius 2 cm, pass through each other’s centres. They intersect at points A and B. A circle R is drawn with diameter AB. What is the area of overlap (in square cm) between the circles R and P?

XAT 2020 · QA & DI
Q3.

A rectangular field is 40 meters long and 30 meters wide. Draw diagonals on this field and then draw circles of radius 1.25 meters, with centers only on the diagonals. Each circle must fall completely within the field. Any two circles can touch each other but should not overlap.

What is the maximum number of such circles that can be drawn in the field?

XAT 2020 · QA & DI
Q4.

In the figure given below, the circle has a chord AB of length 12 cm, which makes an angle of 60° at the center of the circle, O. ABCD, as shown in the diagram, is a rectangle. OQ is the perpendicular bisector of AB, intersecting the chord AB at P, the arc AB at M and CD at Q. OM = MQ. The area of the region enclosed by the line segments AQ and QB, and the arc BMA, is closest to (in cm2):

XAT 2020 · QA & DI
Q5.

Mohanlal, a prosperous farmer, has a square land of side 2 km. For the current season, he decides to have some fun. He marks two distinct points on one of the diagonals of the land. Using these points as centers, he constructs two circles. Each of these circles falls completely within the land, and touches at least two sides of the land. To his surprise, the radii of both the circles are exactly equal to 2/3 km. Mohanlal plants potatoes on the overlapping portion of these circles.

XAT 2020 · QA & DI
Q6.

XYZ is an equilateral triangle, inscribed in a circle. P is a point on the arc YZ such that X and P are on opposite sides of the chord YZ. Which of the following MUST always be true?

XAT 2019 · QA & DI
Q7.

Let C be a circle of radius √20 cm. Let l1, l2 be the lines given by 2x − y −1 = 0 and x + 2y −18 = 0, respectively. Suppose that l1 passes through the center of C and that l2 is tangent to C at the point of intersection of l1 and l2.
  
If (a, b) is the center of C, which of the following is a possible value of a + b?

XAT 2019 · QA & DI
Q8.

What is the maximum number of points that can be placed on a circular disk of radius 1 metre (some of the points could be placed on the bounding circle of the disk) such that no two points are at a distance of less than 1 metre from each other?

XAT 2018 · QA & DI
Q9.

Two circles with radius 2R and √2R intersect each other at points A and B. The centers of both the circles are on the same side of AB. O is the center of the bigger circle and ∠AOB is 60°. Find the area of the common region between two circles.

XAT 2017 · QA & DI
Q10.

AB is a chord of a circle. The length of AB is 24 cm. P is the midpoint of AB. Perpendiculars from P on either side of the chord meets the circle at M and N respectively. If PM < PN and PM = 8 cm. then what will be the length of PN?

XAT 2016 · QA & DI
Q11.

In the figure below, two circular curves create 60° and 90° angles with their respective centres. If the length of the bottom curve Y is 10, find the length of the other curve.

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