Practice and Revision - Tangents and Intersecting Chords

Core concept

A tangent to a circle is perpendicular to the radius at the point of contact, a fundamental tangent property.

How it works

When two chords intersect inside a circle, the products of their segments are equal: if chords AB and CD intersect at P, then AP×PB = CP×PD.

Why it matters

The tangent-secant relationship states that the square of the tangent length equals the product of the secant's external and total lengths.

Key detail

Understanding these theorems helps solve various circle geometry problems involving tangent lines, chords, and their relationships.