Find the length of the following tangent segments to the circles centered at O and O's whose radii are 5 and 3 respectively and the distance between O and O's is 12. Find segment AB

Answer:
AB = 2 sqrt(35) (or 11.83 to two decimal places)
Step-by-step explanation:
Refer to diagram.
ABO'P is a rectangle (all angles 90)
=>
PO' = AB
AB = PO' = sqrt(12^2-2^2) = sqrt(144-4) = sqrt(140) = 2sqrt(35)
using Pythagoras theorem.