Question

What is the value of x to the nearest tenth?

Answer 1

x is the radius of the circle. If we draw another radius to the end of the chord, we get a right triangle with legs 12 (half of 24) and 6, and hypotenuse x. We write the Pythagorean Theorem


`x^2 = 12^2 + 6^2 = 144 + 36 = 180`


`x = √(180) = √(36 * 5) = 6 √(5)`

I don't like the calculator part; why ruin a nice exact answer with an approximation? But for completeness


`x \approx 13.4`