The smallest number of points at which they can touch is:
1
Tangent of a circle--
The tangent to a circle is a straight line that touches the curve at just one point i.e. it " just crosses " the curve.
Hence, here it is given that a circle and a line intersect in the curve.
i.e. the line meets the circle at at least one point.
As the minimum number of intersection point is 1 (i.e. a tangent to the circle )
Hence, the answer is:
1
