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In the circle above, RS is parallel to diameter PQ,

and PQ has a length of 12. What is the length of
RS?

In the circle above, RS is parallel to diameter PQ, and PQ has a length of 12. What-example-1

1 Answer

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The length of chord RS in circle O, given the perpendicular bisector from the center and trigonometric calculations, is determined to be 6 units.

Step 1: Draw a perpendicular line from the center of the circle O to the chord RS, and label the intersection point as T. This line will bisect the chord RS and the angle POR.

Step 2: Use the fact that RS is parallel to PQ, and the alternate interior angles theorem, to conclude that the angle ROT is also 30 degrees.

Step 3: Use the Pythagorean theorem to find the length of OT, which is the radius of the circle. Since PQ is the diameter, we have OT = PQ/2 = 12/2 = 6.

Step 4: Use the trigonometric ratio of sine to find the length of RT, which is half of the length of RS. We have sin(30) = RT/OT, so RT = OT * sin(30) = 6 * 0.5 = 3.

Step 5: Double the length of RT to get the length of RS. We have RS = 2 * RT = 2 * 3 = 6.

Therefore, the length of RS is 6.

User Suganthan Raj
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