length of the tangent

A Circle is inscribed in a triangle ABC, where AB=10 cms, BC=9 cms and AC=7 cms . X,Y,Z are points of contact of the sides AC,BC and AB with the circle respectively. BZ=?

In the first look, question looked simple to me. But i am not able to get to the answer. I found the In-radius using $rs = (s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c))^{1/2}$. But that is not helping me to find the required length.

In the above formula,
r= indradius
s=(a+b+c)/2
a,b,c -> Lengths of the sides of triangle

I would be glad to see the answer of this question. Any Hints or answers are welcome. Thanks.

Sandy

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The equations are easy to solve, but let's make it nicer. Let $BZ=p$, $CX=q$, $AZ=r$. Then $p+q+r=(10+9+7)/2=s$ (half-perimeter). So $p=s-b=13-7$. Note the appearance of the term $s-b$, which will remind you of Heron's Formula. –  André Nicolas Jul 21 '12 at 17:24

1 Answer

It's much easier than you're making it. XC = YC, XA = ZA and BZ = BY, because in each case, you've got two tangents up to the same point.

That gives you enough to solve for all of the lengths. In particular (with all lengths in centimetres) BZ = 10 - AZ = 10 - AX = 3 + XC. But because BY + YC = 9, this gives BZ = 6.

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Hey thanks. Dint look at the problem that way. –  Manty Jul 21 '12 at 11:53