Difference between revisions of "2009 AIME II Problems/Problem 13"
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=== Computing the product of sines === | === Computing the product of sines === | ||
− | In this section we show one way how to evaluate the product <math>\prod_{k=1}^6 \sin \frac{k\pi}7 </math>. | + | In this section we show one way how to evaluate the product <math>\prod_{k=1}^6 \sin \frac{k\pi}7 = \prod_{k=1}^3 (\sin \frac{k\pi}7)^2 </math>. |
Let <math>\omega_k = \cos \frac{2k\pi}7 + i\sin \frac{2k\pi}7</math>. The numbers <math>1,\omega_1,\omega_2,\dots,\omega_6</math> are the <math>7</math>-th complex roots of unity. In other words, these are the roots of the polynomial <math>x^7-1</math>. Then the numbers <math>\omega_1,\omega_2,\dots,\omega_6</math> are the roots of the polynomial <math>\frac{x^7-1}{x-1} = x^6+x^5+\cdots+x+1</math>. | Let <math>\omega_k = \cos \frac{2k\pi}7 + i\sin \frac{2k\pi}7</math>. The numbers <math>1,\omega_1,\omega_2,\dots,\omega_6</math> are the <math>7</math>-th complex roots of unity. In other words, these are the roots of the polynomial <math>x^7-1</math>. Then the numbers <math>\omega_1,\omega_2,\dots,\omega_6</math> are the roots of the polynomial <math>\frac{x^7-1}{x-1} = x^6+x^5+\cdots+x+1</math>. | ||
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<cmath> | <cmath> | ||
\begin{align*} | \begin{align*} | ||
− | |1-\omega_k| | + | (1-\omega_k)(1-\omega_7_-_k)=|1-\omega_k|^2 |
− | & = | + | & = \left( 1-\cos \frac{2k\pi}7 \right)^2 + \left( \sin \frac{2k\pi}7 \right)^2 |
− | \left | ||
\ | \ | ||
− | & = | + | & = 2-2\cos \frac{2k\pi}7 |
\ | \ | ||
− | & = \ | + | & = 2-2 \left( 1 - 2 \left( \sin \frac{k\pi}7 \right)^2 \right) |
\ | \ | ||
− | & = | + | & = 4\left( \sin \frac{k\pi}7 \right)^2 |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
\end{align*} | \end{align*} | ||
</cmath> | </cmath> | ||
− | Therefore the size of the left hand side in our equation is <math>\prod_{k=1}^ | + | Therefore the size of the left hand side in our equation is <math>\prod_{k=1}^3 4 (\sin \frac{k\pi}7)^2 = 2^6 \prod_{k=1}^3 (\sin \frac{k\pi}7)^2</math>. As the right hand side is <math>7</math>, we get that <math>\prod_{k=1}^3 (\sin \frac{k\pi}7)^2 = \frac{7}{2^6}</math>. |
− | |||
== See Also == | == See Also == |
Revision as of 16:20, 20 February 2015
Contents
[hide]Problem
Let and
be the endpoints of a semicircular arc of radius
. The arc is divided into seven congruent arcs by six equally spaced points
,
,
,
. All chords of the form
or
are drawn. Let
be the product of the lengths of these twelve chords. Find the remainder when
is divided by
.
Solution
Solution 1
Let the radius be 1 instead. All lengths will be halved so we will multiply by at the end. Place the semicircle on the complex plane, with the center of the circle being 0 and the diameter being the real axis. Then
are 6 of the 14th roots of unity. Let
; then
correspond to
. Let
be their reflections across the diameter. These points correspond to
. Then the lengths of the segments are
. Noting that
represents 1 in the complex plane, the desired product is
for .
However, the polynomial
has as its zeros all 14th roots of unity except for
and
. Hence
Thus the product is
(
) when the radius is 1, and the product is
. Thus the answer is
.
Solution 2
Let be the midpoint of
and
. Assume
is closer to
instead of
.
=
. Using the Law of Cosines,
=
,
=
,
.
.
.
=
So =
. It can be rearranged to form
=
.
= -
, so we have
=
=
=
It can be shown that =
, so
=
=
=
, so the answer is
Solution 3
Note that for each the triangle
is a right triangle. Hence the product
is twice the area of the triangle
. Knowing that
, the area of
can also be expressed as
, where
is the length of the altitude from
onto
. Hence we have
.
By the definition of we obviously have
.
From these two observations we get that the product we should compute is equal to , which is the same identity as in Solution 2.
Computing the product of sines
In this section we show one way how to evaluate the product .
Let . The numbers
are the
-th complex roots of unity. In other words, these are the roots of the polynomial
. Then the numbers
are the roots of the polynomial
.
We just proved the identity .
Substitute
. The right hand side is obviously equal to
. Let's now examine the left hand side.
We have:
\begin{align*} (1-\omega_k)(1-\omega_7_-_k)=|1-\omega_k|^2 & = \left( 1-\cos \frac{2k\pi}7 \right)^2 + \left( \sin \frac{2k\pi}7 \right)^2 \\ & = 2-2\cos \frac{2k\pi}7 \\ & = 2-2 \left( 1 - 2 \left( \sin \frac{k\pi}7 \right)^2 \right) \\ & = 4\left( \sin \frac{k\pi}7 \right)^2 \end{align*} (Error compiling LaTeX. Unknown error_msg)
Therefore the size of the left hand side in our equation is . As the right hand side is
, we get that
.
See Also
2009 AIME II (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 12 |
Followed by Problem 14 | |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 | ||
All AIME Problems and Solutions |
The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions.