Two circles are drawn in a 12-inch by 14-inch rectangle. Each circle has a diameter of 6 inches. If the circles do not extend beyond the rectangular region, what is the greatest possible distance (in inches) between the centers of the two circles?

d = 10 inch

Explanation:

The farthest distance between the centers, is along the diagonal of the rectangle. Therefore, we need to calculate the diagonal of the rectangle, but counting the fact that we have both circles.

So if, one side is 12 inch, and the other is 14 inch, we can use the Pitagoras theorem which is:

d = √ (a²) + (b) ²

Where a and b, are the lenght of the rectangle, but without the lenght of the diameter of both circles.

With this, the expression is this:

d = √ (14 - 6) ² + (12 - 6) ²

d = √64+36

d = √100

d = 10 inches