[Math] Can a circle have a negative radius

3danalytic geometry

I am working on a problem that asks if a given sphere intersects the zx-plane.

The equation of the sphere is $(x-2)^2+(y+6)^2+(z-4)^2=5^2$
enter image description here

Can someone please explain to me how the sphere does not intersect the zx-plane because the radius of the circle is said to be a positive quantity when in fact there is clearly a negative sign in front of the 11.

Thank you

Best Answer

This is called a proof by contradiction.

You first do the assumption that your sphere intersects the plane. From this you would deduce that $(x-2)^2 + (z-4)^2 = -11$. But this is not possible since the number on the left is non-negative and the one on the right is negative. Hence you deduce that your initial assumption was false: the sphere does not intersect the plane.