Q.What is the length of the tangent drawn from an external point located 17 cm away from the center of a circle with a radius of 4 cm?
OB ⊥ AB and OA = 17 cm, OB = 8 cm
∴ OB\(^2\) + AB\(^2\) = OA\(^2\)
Or, 8\(^2\) + AB\(^2\) = 17\(^2\)
Or, AB\(^2\) = 289 − 64 = 225
Or, AB = √225 = 15
\(\therefore\) The length of the tangent drawn to the circle is 15 cm.