Question

Two circles have a common chord of 16 in. Their centers are 21 units apart from each other. One of the circles has a radius of 17 in.

a)Make an accurate diagram of this situation.

b)Find a possible radius measurement for the second circle.

Answer 1

Half of cord 24/2 = 12

Explanation:

In the circle with r = 13 we have 13^2 = 12^2 + a^2 where a = the distance from the centre of this circle to the cord. Thus a = 5. Then the distance from the cord to the other circle centre is 21 - 5 = 16. In the second circle you can write r2^2 = 16^2 + 12^2. The r2 = sqrt (400) = 20