Tangent Lines and Circles
A tangent line touches a circle at exactly one point, called the point of tangency. The key property to remember is that a line is tangent to a circle if and only if it's perpendicular to the radius drawn to that point of tangency.
When determining if a line is tangent to a circle, we can use the Pythagorean theorem. If we have a right triangle formed by the radius, the distance from the center to the line, and the connecting segment, we can check if the equation works out. If a²+b²=c², then the line is tangent to the circle.
To find unknown values involving tangent lines, apply the Pythagorean theorem and solve for the unknown variable. For example, if you know two sides of the right triangle formed by the tangent and radius, you can find the third side.
Remember This! When a line is tangent to a circle, it forms a right angle (90°) with the radius at the point of tangency - this is the property that makes all tangent problems solvable!