1998 AJHSME Problems/Problem 6

Problem

Dots are spaced one unit apart, horizontally and vertically. The number of square units enclosed by the polygon is

[asy] for(int a=0; a<4; ++a) { for(int b=0; b<4; ++b) { dot((a,b)); } } draw((0,0)--(0,2)--(1,2)--(2,3)--(2,2)--(3,2)--(3,0)--(2,0)--(2,1)--(1,0)--cycle); [/asy]

$\text{(A)}\ 5 \qquad \text{(B)}\ 6 \qquad \text{(C)}\ 7 \qquad \text{(D)}\ 8 \qquad \text{(E)}\ 9$

Solutions

Solution 1

We could count the area contributed by each square on the $3 \times 3$ grid:

Top-left: $0$

Top: Triangle with area $\frac{1}{2}$

Top-right: $0$

Left: Square with area $1$

Center: Square with area $1$

Right: Square with area $1$

Bottom-left: Square with area $1$

Bottom: Triangle with area $\frac{1}{2}$

Bottom-right: Square with area $1$

Adding all of these together, we get $6$ which is the same as $\boxed{B}$

Solution 2

By Pick's Theorem, we get the formula, $A=I+\frac{b}{2}-1$ where $I$ is the number of lattice points in the interior and $b$ being the number of lattice points on the boundary. In this problem, we can see that $I=1$ and $B=12$. Substituting gives us $A=1+\frac{12}{2}-1=6$ Thus, the answer is $\boxed{\text{(B) 6}}$

Solution 3

Notice that the extra triangle on the top with area $1$ can be placed (like a jigsaw puzzle) at the bottom of the grid where there is a triangular hole, also with area $1$. This creates a $2*3$ rectangle, with a area of $6$. The answer is $\boxed{\text{(B) 6}}$ ~sakshamsethi

See Also

1998 AJHSME (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 5
Followed by
Problem 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
All AJHSME/AMC 8 Problems and Solutions

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