Question

The diagram is not to scale.

Answer 1

`|AB|=30`

Explanation:

From the diagram,

AO=OC=16 units, all radii of a circle are equal.

BO=OC+BC

BO=16+18

BO=34

A tangent to a circle will always meet the radius at right angles.

We use the Pythagoras Theorem to obtain:

`|AB|^2+|AO|^2=|BO|^2`

`|AB|^2+16^2=34^2`

`|AB|^2+256=1156`

`|AB|^2=1156-256`

`|AB|^2=900`

Take positive square roots to get:

`|AB|=√(900)`

`|AB|=30`