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What is the length of the diameter of a circle inscribed in a right triangle with the length of hypotenuse c and the sum of the legs' lengths equal to m?

User GoFaster
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1 Answer

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Answer:

diameter = m - c

Explanation:

In ΔABC, let ∠C be the right angle. The length of the tangents from point C to the inscribed circle are "r", the radius. Then the lengths of tangents from point A are (b-r), and those from point B have length (a-r).

The sum of the lengths of the tangents from points A and B on side "c" is ...

(b-r) +(a-r) = c

(a+b) -2r = c

Now, the problem statement defines the sum of side lengths as ...

a+b = m

and, of course, the diameter (d) is 2r, so we can rewrite the above equation as ...

m -d = c

m - c = d . . . . add d-c

The diameter of the inscribed circle is the difference between the sum of leg lengths and the hypotenuse.

User HPJAJ
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