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The lines that appear tangent are tangent. What is the value of x, to the nearest tenth.

The lines that appear tangent are tangent. What is the value of x, to the nearest-example-1
User Mkruzil
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1 Answer

10 votes

Answer:

x ≈ 10.7

Explanation:

Is given in the picture that x is the radius of the circle.

The radius of a circle and the tangent line to the circle form a right angle, therefore our triangle is a right triangle.

We can apply the Pythagorean Theorem to find one equation that will have one unknown x.

(x+12)² = x² +20² , use that (a+b)² = a²+b²+2ab

x²+12²+2·x·12 = x² +20², subtract x² from both sides of the equation

12² + 24x = 20², subtract 12² from both sides of the equation

24x = 20²-12², raise to power and combine like terms

24x = 256, divide by 24 both sides of the equation

x = 10.6666666..., round to the nearest tenth

x ≈ 10.7

The lines that appear tangent are tangent. What is the value of x, to the nearest-example-1
User Hanane
by
3.4k points