Circle a has a radius of 3 and circle b has a radius of 11. if the idstance between the center of the circles in 17, find the length of the common external tangent

Use Pythagorean Theorem:

a² + b² = c²

"a" is one side of the right triangle.

Its length is: radius of larger circle minus radius of smaller circle: (11 - 3 = 8)

The distance between the center of the circles creates the hypotenuse (17)

8² + b² = 17²

b² = 225

b = 15

Answer: the length of the common external tangent is 15.