Context: A circle in the $xy$-plane has center $(3, 2)$ and radius $4$, and its equation is written in the form $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = b$. The question asks for the value of $h$.

Answer: 3

Why: Standard form for a circle is $(x - h)^2 + (y - k)^2 = r^2$, where $(h, k)$ is the center and $r$ is the radius. Matching the given center $(3, 2)$ term by term gives $h = 3$ and $k = 2$, with $b = r^2 = 4^2 = 16$. The completed equation is $(x - 3)^2 + (y - 2)^2 = 16$, and only the first of those constants is requested.

Common slips: Reporting $k = 2$ instead of $h$; giving the radius $4$ or the constant $b = 16$ when only $h$ is asked for; or flipping the sign to $h = -3$, forgetting that the form already subtracts $h$, so $(x - 3)^2$ means $h = 3$.