Two circles are having radii 9 cm and 12 cm and intersect each other. The distance between their centres is 15 cm. What is the length (in cm) of their common chord?

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SSC CGL Tier 2 Quant Previous Paper 9 (Held On: 19 Feb 2018)
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  1. 6.8
  2. 13.6
  3. 7.2
  4. 14.4

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 4 : 14.4
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Detailed Solution

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The line joining the centre will be perpendicular to the common chord and will bisect it.

In ΔNPR and ΔNQR

NP = NQ (radii)

NR is common

∠PNR = ∠QNR [∵ NP and NQ are tangents to the larger circle]

∴ The triangles are congruent

ΔMNP is a right angled triangle. Because the sides are Pythagorean triplet i.e. 122 + 92 = 152

Area of ΔMNP = 1/2 × MN × PR = 1/2 × MP × NP

⇒ MN × PR = MP × NP

⇒ 15 × PR = 12 × 9

PR = 7.2 cm

PQ = 2 × PR = 14.4 cm

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