Difference between revisions of "2018 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 16"
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− | Note that if a circle with an integer radius <math>r</math> centered at vertex <math>B</math> intersects hypotenuse <math>\overline{AB}</math>, the lines drawn from <math>B</math> to the points of intersection are integer lengths. As in the previous solution, the shortest distance <math>14<\overline{BP}<15</math>. As a result, a circle of <math>14</math> will <math> | + | Note that if a circle with an integer radius <math>r</math> centered at vertex <math>B</math> intersects hypotenuse <math>\overline{AB}</math>, the lines drawn from <math>B</math> to the points of intersection are integer lengths. As in the previous solution, the shortest distance <math>14<\overline{BP}<15</math>. As a result, a circle of <math>14</math> will <math><b>not</b></math> reach the hypotenuse and thus does not intersect it. We also know that a circle of radius <math>21</math> intersects the hypotenuse once and a circle of radius <math>\{15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 \}</math> intersects the hypotenuse twice. Quick graphical thinking or Euclidean construction will prove this. |
<asy> | <asy> | ||
unitsize(4); | unitsize(4); |
Revision as of 20:03, 15 April 2021
Contents
Problem
Right triangle has leg lengths
and
. Including
and
, how many line segments with integer length can be drawn from vertex
to a point on hypotenuse
?
Solution
As the problem has no diagram, we draw a diagram. The hypotenuse has length
. Let
be the foot of the altitude from
to
. Note that
is the shortest possible length of any segment. Writing the area of the triangle in two ways, we can solve for
, which is between
and
.
Let the line segment be , with
on
. As you move
along the hypotenuse from
to
, the length of
strictly decreases, hitting all the integer values from
(IVT). Similarly, moving
from
to
hits all the integer values from
. This is a total of
line segments.
(asymptote diagram added by elements2015)
Solution 2 - Circles
Note that if a circle with an integer radius centered at vertex
intersects hypotenuse
, the lines drawn from
to the points of intersection are integer lengths. As in the previous solution, the shortest distance
. As a result, a circle of
will
reach the hypotenuse and thus does not intersect it. We also know that a circle of radius
intersects the hypotenuse once and a circle of radius
intersects the hypotenuse twice. Quick graphical thinking or Euclidean construction will prove this.
It follows that we can draw circles of radii
and
that each contribute two integer lengths from
to
and one circle of radius
that contributes only one such segment. Our answer is then
~samrocksnature
Video Solution 1
~IceMatrix
Video Solution 2
https://youtu.be/4_x1sgcQCp4?t=3790
~ pi_is_3.14
See Also
2018 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 15 |
Followed by Problem 17 | |
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.