Question

Two chords in a circle intersect. One chord is made of 6 and 5, and the other is made of x +1 and x. What is x?

Answer 1

Answer:

x = 5 and -6

Step-by-step explanation:

Using the intersecting chord theorem which states that the products of the lengths of the line segments on each chord are equal.

Hence:

let

a = 6, b = 5, c = x+1 and d = x

Therefore, ab = cd

6*5 = x(x+1)

30 = x²+x

x²+x - 30 = 0

x²+ 6x - 5x - 30 = 0

x(x+6) - 5(x+6) =0

(x-5)(x+6) = 0

x-5 =0 and x+6 = 0

x = 5 and -6