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jmc

geometry senior

Problem

Let be a diameter of circle . Extend through to . Point lies on so that line is tangent to . Point is the foot of the perpendicular from to line . Suppose , and let denote the maximum possible length of segment . Find .
Solution
Let . Since , it follows easily that . Thus . By the Law of Cosines on ,where , so:Let ; this is a quadratic, and its discriminant must be nonnegative: . Thus,Equality holds when .
Final answer
432