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CAT 2022 Slot 2 · Quant · Circles · medium

A chord of length 24 cm is drawn in a circle of radius 13 cm. Find the perpendicular distance from the centre of the circle to the chord (in cm).

Numerical answer

A chord of length 24 cm is drawn in a circle of radius 13 cm. Find the perpendicular distance from the centre of the circle to the chord (in cm).
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Answer: 5

The perpendicular from the centre to a chord bisects the chord, so half the chord = 12 cm. Using Pythagoras with the radius as hypotenuse: distance² + 12² = 13² → distance² = 169−144 = 25 → distance = 5 cm. (This is the classic 5-12-13 right triangle.)
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