the plane of a circle of center M contained in plane X , MA perpendicular to plane X and if AM = 2√7 cm , BC = 8 cm find the length of AB.. where BC is a tangent and AMB is right at M .... find the length of AB ..?

3 answers

BC is a tangent to what?

I see line MA sticking up out of the plane X and B in the plane, but where is C?
C is the point of the tangent to the circle
oh, right. I forgot about the circle.

Hmmm. Still seems a bit murky. I see that if the radius of the circle is r,

r^2+8^2 = MB^2
MB^2+MA^2 = AB^2
so,
AB^2 = r^2+64+28 = r^2+92

But I can't figure out how to pin down r. Maybe you can take it from here.