with centers) and have radii and , respectively. The equation of a common external tangent to the circles can be written in the form with . What is ?
AMC12 2006A 19.png
with centers) and have radii and , respectively. The equation of a common external tangent to the circles can be written in the form with . What is ?
AMC12 2006A 19.png
Pick one
Let be the line that goes through and , and let be the line . If we let be the measure of the acute angle formed by and the x-axis, then . clearly bisects the angle formed by and the x-axis, so . We also know that and intersect at a point on the x-axis. The equation of is , so the coordinate of this point is . Hence the equation of is , so , and our answer choice is .