A circle is inscribed in an isosceles trapezium, as shown below. The two blue sides have lengths 8 and 18, respectively. What is the radius of the circle?
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Since it is a trapezium, ∠ A = ∠ B , ∠ D = ∠ C , A D = B C . It follows that D F = F C = 4 and A E = E B = 9 . Tangents to a circle drawn from an external point are equal, therefore, B H = E B = 9 and F C = C H = 4 . Thus, B C = 9 + 4 = 1 3 . It follows that A D = B C = 1 3 . From my figure, F E = D G = d i a m e t e r o f t h e c i r c l e .
Consider △ D G A : Since G E = D F = 4 , A G = 9 − 4 = 5
Applying pythagorean theorem on △ D G A , we get
D G = 1 3 2 − 5 2 = 1 4 4 = 1 2
Hence, the radius is 2 D G = 2 1 2 = 6