Problema Solution

The radius of a circle is 12cm. A chord of the circle is 16 cm long. Calculate the distance of the chord from the centre of the circle. Give the answer to 1 decimal place.

Answer provided by our tutors

make a drawing and use Pythagorean Theorem:


the distance d of the chord from the center of the circle is:


d^2 = 12^2 - (16/2)^2


d^2 = 144 - 64


d^2 = 80


d = 8.9 cm


the distance of the chord from the center of the circle is 8.9 cm approximately.