Question

TANGENT LINES FIND PERIMETER

Answer 1

There is a theorem that says that, two tangent lines onto a circle that start from the same point are equal. For example, if we were to label the polygon ABCD, the tangent lines going from point A are equal, the lines going from point B are equal, etc.

Since we now know this rule, we can see that, for each point of the polygon you are given 1 out of 2 tangent lines for that point. Using this theorem, we can say that the other tangent line is equal to the first.

So, the bottom two tangents are 98 and 98, the right-side are both 22 and 22, the top are both 27 and 27, and the left are 22 and 22. We need to find the perimeter, or the sum of all the sides of the polygon. Seeing as the sides of the polygon are formed by all the tangent lines, we just have to find the sum of all the tangent lines.

98 + 98 + 22 + 22 + 27 + 27 + 22 + 22 =
= 196 + 88 + 54 (or 2*98 + 4*22 + 2+27) =
= 338 inches

I hope this wasnt too confusing.