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Printimc
geometry intermediate
Problem
A triangle with sides of 5, 12, and 13 has both an inscribed and a circumscribed circle. What is the distance between the centers of those circles?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
We directly apply Euler's Theorem, which states that if the circumcenter is and the incenter , and the inradius is and the circumradius is , then We can see that this is a right triangle, and hence has area . We then find the inradius with the formula , where denotes semiperimeter. We easily see that , so . We now find the circumradius with the formula . Solving for gives . Additionally, we may notice that the side lengths are in a Pythagorean triple, and therefore the triangle is right for a circumradius of . Substituting all of this back into our formula gives: So,
Final answer
D