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Contents
Problem
Triangle 
has right angle at 
, and contains a point 
for which 
, 
, and 
. Find 
.
![[asy] unitsize(0.2 cm); pair A, B, C, P; A = (0,14); B = (0,0); C = (21*sqrt(3),0); P = intersectionpoint(arc(B,6,0,180),arc(C,33,0,180)); draw(A--B--C--cycle); draw(A--P); draw(B--P); draw(C--P); label("$A$", A, NW); label("$B$", B, SW); label("$C$", C, SE); label("$P$", P, NE); [/asy]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/8/7/b/87b171f8fbb8055a3f8d854d493f599eec30c1fc.png)
Solution
Let 
. Since , each of them is equal to 
. By the Law of Cosines applied to triangles 
, 
and 
at their respective angles , remembering that 
, we have
![\[AB^2 = 36 + 100 + 60 = 196, BC^2 = 36 + x^2 + 6x, CA^2 = 100 + x^2 + 10x\]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/3/8/1/3811f0cadac72e5493473cc57a2249d160ce488c.png)
Then by the Pythagorean Theorem, 
, so
![\[x^2 + 10x + 100 = x^2 + 6x + 36 + 196\]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/6/8/8/688be5159b368f96110b866f2f826348c7f9c0d2.png)
and
![\[4x = 132 \Longrightarrow x = \boxed{033}.\]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/b/9/6/b96d8f130f6036d0500a38ca00ce1281338256c8.png)
Note
This is the Fermat point of the triangle.
See also
| 1987 AIME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
| Preceded by Problem 8 |
Followed by Problem 10 | |
| 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. 
