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Geometry for School and Home
Activity 3.8
Assignment 3.9
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Assignment 10.3
Chords and Distance from the Center of a Circle
Objectives
Develop and apply a theorem about lengths of chords and their distance from the center of a circle.
Use the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate lengths of chords, radii, and distances from centers of circles.
About Geometry Worksheet Assignment 10.3:
Assignment 10.3 is the development and application of the relationships between lengths of chords and their distances from the center of a circle.
Prerequisite Skills: Measure line segments (Assignment 1.11). Name chords (Assignment 10.1). Write and solve equations applying the Pythagorean Theorem using exact answers (Assignment 7.3).
Definition: The distance of a chord from the center of a circle is the length of a line segment perpendicular to the chord with endpoints at the center and on the chord.
Theorem: In a circle, the longer the chord, the closer it is to the center of the circle; the shorter the chord, the farther it is from the center of the circle.