Engineering Board Exam Reviewer · Circles: Chords, Tangents and Secants · medium

From an external point P, a tangent PT and a secant PAB are drawn to a circle (A nearer to P). If PT=12 and PA=8, find PB.

  1. 18
  2. 16
  3. 20
  4. 14.4

Answer

A. 18

Solution

By the tangent-secant theorem: PT2=PA· PB 144=8· PB PB=18.

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