When a diameter is perpendicular to a chord, what happens to the chord?

When a diameter of a circle is drawn perpendicular to a chord, it bisects the chord. This relationship is rooted in the properties of circles and the nature of perpendicular lines. In a circle, any diameter that is perpendicular to a chord divides the chord into two equal segments at the point of intersection.

This property can be understood through the symmetry of the circle: the diameter acts as an axis, and since it is perpendicular to the chord, it ensures that both halves of the chord are equidistant from the center of the circle. Consequently, this means that the point where the diameter intersects the chord is the midpoint of the chord, providing that the chord remains a straight line extending from one point on the circumference to another.

The other options do not align with this geometric principle. Doubling the chord's length or transforming it into a diameter do not occur simply through the action of the diameter being perpendicular. Additionally, the notion of the diameter being bisected by the chord contradicts the definition of a diameter, which stretches across the entire circle and is continuous through its center.