Y by
In the center of the square of side
shown in the figure is an ant. At one point the ant starts walking until it touches the left side
, then continues walking until it reaches the bottom side
, and finally returns to the starting point. Show that, regardless of the path followed by the ant, the distance it travels is greater than the square root of
.
![[asy]
unitsize(2 cm);
draw((0,0)--(1,0)--(1,1)--(0,1)--cycle);
label("$a$", (0,0.5), W);
label("$b$", (0.5,0), S);
dot((0.5,0.5));
[/asy]](//latex.artofproblemsolving.com/texer/g/guvxiblm.png)




![[asy]
unitsize(2 cm);
draw((0,0)--(1,0)--(1,1)--(0,1)--cycle);
label("$a$", (0,0.5), W);
label("$b$", (0.5,0), S);
dot((0.5,0.5));
[/asy]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/texer/g/guvxiblm.png)
This post has been edited 6 times. Last edited by parmenides51, Jun 1, 2024, 11:38 AM