Question

What the distance between two parallel tangents to a circle of radius 5 cm?

Answer 1

Given: Circle with radius r = 5 cm.

Step-wise calculation:

1. Let two parallel tangents touch the circle at points P and Q on opposite sides. The radii OP and OQ are perpendicular to the tangents, so the shortest distance between the two tangent lines equals OP + OQ = r + r.

2. Substitute r = 5 cm:

Distance = 2r 

= 2 × 5

= 10 cm

The distance between the two parallel tangents is 10 cm.