Question #N233
A circle has a radius of 5 cm. A chord of the circle is 8 cm long. What is the distance, in centimeters, between the center of the circle and the chord?
A. 3
B. 4
C. 5
D. 6
Correct Answer is: A
Draw a diagram: [Diagram: A circle with center O and chord AB. Draw a perpendicular line from O to AB, intersecting AB at point M. This perpendicular bisects AB, so AM=MB=4. Triangle AOM is a right triangle with hypotenuse OA=5 and AM=4. By the Pythagorean Theorem, OM = 3.] Since OM is the perpendicular distance from the center of the circle to the chord, the distance between the center of the circle and the chord is **3** centimeters.