SOLUTION: the centers of two circles of radii 3 and 5 are 17 units apart. find the lengh of a common external tangent

Question 1024009: the centers of two circles of radii 3 and 5 are 17 units apart. find the lengh of a common external tangent

Found 2 solutions by robertb, ikleyn:
Answer by robertb(5830) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The two radii must be perpendicular to the common external tangent, hence the length should be .
Answer by ikleyn(52800) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.
the centers of two circles of radii 3 and 5 are 17 units apart. find the length of a common external tangent.
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The two radii must be perpendicular to the common external tangent, hence the length should be .

See the lesson HOW TO construct a common exterior tangent line to two circles (Problem 2) in this site.

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