Chords Versus Tangents Of Circles

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HomeAcademics & The Arts ArticlesMath ArticlesTrigonometry ArticlesChords versus Tangents of CirclesByMary Jane Sterling Updated2016-03-26 10:57:12From the bookTrigonometry For DummiesShare

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You show the diameter and radius of a circle by drawing segments from a point on the circle either to or through the center of the circle. But two other straight figures have a place on a circle. One of these figures is called a chord, and the other is a tangent:

• Chords: A chord of a circle is a segment that you draw from one point on the circle to another point on the circle. A chord always stays inside the circle. The largest chord possible is the diameter — you can't get any longer than that segment.

• Tangent: A tangent to a circle is a line, ray, or segment that touches the outside of the circle in exactly one point. It never crosses into the circle. A tangent can't be a chord, because a chord touches a circle in two points, crossing through the inside of the circle. Any radius drawn to a tangent is perpendicular to that tangent.

  

About This Article

This article is from the book: 

Trigonometry For Dummies

About the book author:

Mary Jane Sterling (Peoria, Illinois) is the author of Algebra I For Dummies, Algebra Workbook For Dummies, Algebra II For Dummies, Algebra II Workbook For Dummies, and many other For Dummies books. She taught at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois for more than 30 years, teaching algebra, business calculus, geometry, and finite mathematics.

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