2011 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 24
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[hide]Problem
Consider all quadrilaterals such that , , , and . What is the radius of the largest possible circle that fits inside or on the boundary of such a quadrilateral?
Solution 1
Note as above that ABCD must be tangential to obtain the circle with maximal radius. Let , , , and be the points on , , , and respectively where the circle is tangent. Let and . Since the quadrilateral is cyclic(because we want to maximize the circle, so we set the quadrilateral to be cyclic), and . Let the circle have center and radius . Note that , , , and are right angles.
Hence , , , and .
Therefore, and .
Let . Then , , , and . Using and we have , and . By equating the value of from each, . Solving we obtain so that .
Solution 2
To maximize the radius of the circle, we also need to maximize its area. To maximize the area of the circle, the quadrilateral must be tangential (have an incircle). In a tangential quadrilateral, the sum of opposite sides is equal to the semiperimeter of the quadrilateral. , so this particular quadrilateral has an incircle. By definition, given side lengths, a cyclic quadrilateral has the maximum area of any quadrilateral with those side lengths. Therefore, to maximize the area of the quadrilateral and thus the incircle, we assume that this quadrilateral is cyclic.
For cyclic quadrilaterals, Brahmagupta's formula gives the area as where is the semiperimeter and and are the side lengths. Breaking it up into triangles, we see the area of a tangential quadrilateral is also equal to . Equate these two equations. Substituting , the semiperimeter, and , the area and solving for ,we get .
Solution 3 (Trigonometry)
By Pitot's Theorem, since , there exists a circle tangent to all four sides of quadrilateral . Thus, we need to find the radius of this circle.
Let the circle be tangent to , , , and at points , , , and , respectively. Also, let . Then also equals . Let the center of the circle be . Observe that bisects angle , so . Moreover, . But , so , and we find that . Hence, .
Similarly, , and . Therefore, . Putting this together with the above equation yields Thus, , and .
Solution 4 (wowe)
Let be the inradius. Then, the area of the quadrilateral can be expressed as . Clearly, the larger the area of the quadrilateral, the larger the value of the inradius.
Know that the area of a quadrilateral is maximized when it is cyclic. Applying Brahmagupta's, the area will be . Since , .
-skibbysiggy
See also
2011 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | |
Preceded by Problem 23 |
Followed by Problem 25 |
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