Question

3. Circle A has a radius of 10 centimeters. BC and CD are tangent to circle A.D10 cmAB.If AC = 26 cm, what is BC

Answer 1

The tangent is always perpendicular to the radius of the circle drawn from the same point at which tangent touches the circle. So triangle ABC is right triangle with right angle at angle B.

Determine the measure of tangent BC by using the pythagoras theorem.

`\begin{gathered} (AC)^2=(AB)^2+(BC)^2 \\ (26)^2=(10)^2+(BC)^2 \\ (BC)^2=676-100 \\ BC=\sqrt[]{576} \\ =24 \end{gathered}`

So length of tangent BC is 24 cm.