In a circle of radius 5 cm, AB and CD are two parallel chords of lengths 6 cm and 8 cm respectively, and they lie on opposite sides of the center. Wh…

The perpendicular from the center bisects the chord. For chord AB (6 cm), half-length is 3 cm. Using Pythagoras theorem with radius 5 cm, the distance from the center is $\sqrt{5^2 - 3^2} = 4$ cm. For chord CD (8 cm), half-length is 4 cm, so its distance from the center is $\sqrt{5^2 - 4^2} = 3$ cm. Since the chords are on opposite sides, the total distance between them is $4 + 3 = 7$ cm.