First I assign an equation to cir1:
In[21]:= cir1 = x^2 + y^2 == 1
Out[21]= x^2 + y^2 == 1
then if I plot the equation it works fine
ContourPlot[x^2 + y^2 == 1, {x, -1, 1}, {y, -1, 1}]
But if I try the same thing with the variable cir1, I get a blank graph
ContourPlot[cir1, {x, -1, 1}, {y, -1, 1}]
Am I missing something simple to make that work? Newbie here... Thanks!