Question

JK is a tangent to circle O at point J. OJ = 8 and KL = 20. Find JK. Answer should be EXACT. J K L

Answer 1

1) Considering that there is one tangent line with one tangent point O and one secant line, KO then we can write the following equation:

2) Note that the line segment OJ = OL since they start from the center (O) to the circumference, i.e. the radius.

Notice that KO = 20 +8

JK²=KO.KL Plugging into that the given values

JK² = 28*20

JK² = 560

√JK = √560

JK = 4√35