Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Use ruler and compass only for answering this question.
Draw a circle of radius 4 cm. Mark the centre as O. Mark a point P outside the circle at a distance of 7 cm from the centre. Construct two tangents to the circle from the external point P.
Measure and write down the length of any one tangent.
Advertisements
Solution
Steps of Construction:
- Draw a circle with centre O and radius 4 cm using a compass.
- Mark a point P on a horizontal line such that OP = 7 cm.
- Join OP.
- Draw the perpendicular bisector of OP to obtain its midpoint, say M.
- With M as centre and radius MO, draw a circle.
- This circle will cut the given circle at two distinct points A and B.
- Join PA and PB.
- PA and PB are the required tangents from the external point P to the given circle.
Measure the length of the tangent.
Length of tangent
`sqrt(OP^2 − "radius"^2)`
= `sqrt(7^2 − 4^2)`
= `sqrt(49 − 16)`
= `sqrt(33)`
= 5.74 cm (approximately)
So, the length of one tangent is 5.74 cm.

APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Draw a circle of radius 4 cm. Draw two tangents to the circle inclined at an angle of 60° to each other.
In the given figure, PQ is a tangent to the circle at A. AB and AD are bisectors of ∠CAQ and ∠PAC. if ∠BAQ = 30°. Prove that:
- BD is a diameter of the circle.
- ABC is an isosceles triangle.

Draw a circle of diameter 9 cm. Mark a point at a distance of 7.5 cm from the centre of the circle. Draw tangents to the given circle from this exterior point. Measure the length of each tangent.
Draw a circle circumscribing a regular hexagon with side 5 cm.
Construct a triangle ABC in which base BC = 5.5 cm, AB = 6 cm and ∠ABC = 120°.
- Construct a circle circumscribing the triangle ABC.
- Draw a cyclic quadrilateral ABCD so that D is equidistant from B and C.
Draw a circle of radius 3.5 cm. Take two points A and B on one of its extended diameter, each at a distance of 5 cm from its center. Draw tangents to the circle from each of these points A and B.
Draw two circles of radii 3 cm and 3.5 cm, their centres being 8 cm apart. Construct a transverse common tangent and measure its length.
Draw a circle of radius 4 cm. From a point 6 cm away from its centre, construct a pair of tangents to the circle and measure their lengths.
Draw a circle of radius 3 cm. Construct a square about the circle.
You are given a circle with radius ‘r’ and center O. You are asked to draw a pair of tangents which are inclined at an angle of 60° with each other. Refer to the figure and select the option which would lead us to the required construction. d is the distance OE.

