2008 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 20

Problem

Trapezoid $ABCD$ has bases $\overline{AB}$ and $\overline{CD}$ and diagonals intersecting at $K.$ Suppose that $AB = 9$, $DC = 12$, and the area of $\triangle AKD$ is $24.$ What is the area of trapezoid $ABCD$?

$\mathrm{(A)}\ 92\qquad\mathrm{(B)}\ 94\qquad\mathrm{(C)}\ 96\qquad\mathrm{(D)}\ 98 \qquad\mathrm{(E)}\ 100$

Solution 1

[asy] pointpen = black; pathpen = black + linewidth(0.62);  /* cse5 */ pen sm = fontsize(10);             /* small font pen */ pair D=(0,0),C=(6,0), K=(3.5,8/3); /* note that K.x is arbitrary, as generator for A,B */ pair A=7*K/4-3*C/4, B=7*K/4-3*D/4; D(MP("A",A,N)--MP("B",B,N)--MP("C",C)--MP("D",D)--A--C);D(B--D);D(A--MP("K",K)--D--cycle,linewidth(0.7)); MP("9",(A+B)/2,N,sm);MP("12",(C+D)/2,sm);MP("24",(A+D)/2+(1,0),E); [/asy]

Since $\overline{AB} \parallel \overline{DC}$ it follows that $\triangle ABK \sim \triangle CDK$. Thus $\frac{KA}{KC} = \frac{KB}{KD} = \frac{AB}{DC} = \frac{3}{4}$.

We now introduce the concept of area ratios: given two triangles that share the same height, the ratio of the areas is equal to the ratio of their bases. Since $\triangle AKB, \triangle AKD$ share a common altitude to $\overline{BD}$, it follows that (we let $[\triangle \ldots]$ denote the area of the triangle) $\frac{[\triangle AKB]}{[\triangle AKD]} = \frac{KB}{KD} = \frac{3}{4}$, so $[\triangle AKB] = \frac{3}{4}(24) = 18$. Similarly, we find $[\triangle DKC] = \frac{4}{3}(24) = 32$ and $[\triangle BKC] = 24$.

Therefore, the area of $ABCD = [AKD] + [AKB] + [BKC] + [CKD] = 24 + 18 + 24 + 32 = 98\ \mathrm{(D)}$.

Solution 2

We may consider that trapezoid to be right, as there is nothing specifying its angles. Consider D and A right. Let the length of DA be h. Now we let A be (0,0) and we compute the x-coordinate of K from lines AC and DB. $y=\frac{h}{9}x$ for line DB, $y=-\frac{h}{12}x+h$ for line AC. Solving for K, $\frac{h}{9}x=-\frac{h}{12}x+h$ simplifying, $(\frac{1}{9}+\frac{1}{12})x=1$, $x=\frac{72}{14}=\frac{36}{7}$. Using the fact that $\frac{1}{2}*h*x=24$, we solve for h. $\frac{1}{2}*\frac{36}{7}*h=24, h=\frac{7}{18}*24=\frac{7*4}{3}$. Applying trapezoid area formula: $\frac{7*4}{3}*\frac{9+12}{2}=7*7*2=98$. Thus, the area is 98 and the answer is $\mathrm{(D)}$

See also

2008 AMC 10A (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 19
Followed by
Problem 21
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 AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png