ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

SAT Math 5.2 Geometry and Measurement 253 Views


Share It!


Description:

SAT Math 5.2 Geometry and Measurement

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:02

Here’s your shmoop du jour, brought to you by interlocking circles.

00:13

How many tangent lines can be drawn to exactly two circles in the picture below?

00:18

Here are the potential answers...

00:22

First up, let’s make sure we all know what a tangent is.

00:26

And no, it's not a funky kind of orange.

00:28

The one that connects at an arc or circle at exactly one point is a tangent.

00:38

The easiest way to solve this problem is to start by imagining that one of these circles isn’t even there.

00:45

Poof, it’s gone.

00:46

There are all sorts of tangent lines we can draw to one of these circles…

00:49

…but only two will hit both circles at exactly one point.

00:54

Now if we do the same with a different pair of circles, we get the same result.

00:59

Same deal with the final pair.

01:01

So…looks like we get 2 tangents times 3 possible pairings…

01:05

…for a grand total of 6 tangent lines.

01:07

And boom, we’ve got our answer – option D.

Up Next

SAT Math 2.1 Geometry and Measurement
2779 Views

SAT Math 2.1 Geometry and Measurement. What is the measure of angle z in terms of x and y?

Related Videos

SAT Math 9.4 Algebra and Functions
1300 Views

SAT Math 9.4 Algebra and Functions

SAT Math 9.2 Algebra and Functions
377 Views

SAT Math 9.2 Algebra and Functions

SAT Math: Identifying an Equation for the Average of Two Percentages
23 Views

In 2014, the unemployment rate of one county in California was 7%. In another county, the unemployment rate was 11%. Which of the following express...

SAT Math: Which Equation Represents Profit?
13 Views

Angela is making cookies for a bake sale. She expects each batch of her cookies to sell for $40. It costs her $10 to make one batch of cookies, and...